


Student Kiss

by alittleghoul



Category: Free!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-04
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2018-03-21 05:00:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 55,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3678534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alittleghoul/pseuds/alittleghoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rika had been getting into fights since she was a kid. The last person she expected to interfere in these fights was Makoto. Nor did she expect old feelings for him to bubble up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rika the fighter

“I’m off,” Makoto called over his shoulder.

Ran and Ren poked their heads out from the kitchen. In unison they waved and said, “Bye Onii-chan!”

With a smile he waved back and went out the door. Heading towards the stairs he sighed. Why couldn’t Haru ever be on time and for once meet Makoto at his door? Then again that wouldn’t be like Haru and Makoto didn’t _really_ mind pulling his friend from the bathtub. Coming up to the house he knocked on the door with small hope that Haru might already be out and dressed. However, the silence that followed was not a big surprise.

Shaking his head, Makoto opened the door. “Haru? I’m coming in. Excuse the intrusion.”

His feet moved automatically as he made his way towards the bathroom. Sliding the door open he saw his friend’s knees, clad in his swimsuit, poking just above the water. With a smile he walked over and peered down. Haru lay submerged in the water with his eyes closed. Makoto reached out and gently touched one of his knees. Haru opened his eyes, sea blue looking up into cool green, and blinked.

The water shifted and splashed as he sat up and shook out his hair. Makoto put on his sunbeam smile while tilting his head slightly. “Morning Haru-chan.”

Haru narrowed his eyes at his childhood friend. “Drop the ‘chan’.”

“Sorry.” Makoto extended his hand. “If you want to have time to cook your mackerel you should get out now.”

“That’s different.” Haru took the hand with a raised brow. “You’re actually telling me to have mackerel instead of yelling at me to hurry. Are you sick?”

Makoto chuckled as Haru grabbed a towel to dry off. “I’m not sick. Just figured you’re going to do it anyway so there is no point in fighting it.”

Haru paused in drying off his hair. He peeked out from beneath the towel. “You’re getting smarter.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Haru,” whined Makoto as he stood outside the door. “We need to go now!”

Haru trailed out of the door as he finished putting on his blazer. He sighed. “Now you’re back to normal. Nagging like the giant puppy you are.”

“I’m sorry. But we really need to go or we’re going to be late.”

Haru waved his hand dismissively as he locked the door. Finally the two boys took to the stairs only to pause upon seeing a figure crouched on the landing. A girl dressed in their school uniform sat crouched petting a white kitten. Her knees were taped up with bandages as well as a few of her fingers. Her shoes were dirty, a hole sitting at the toe of the right shoe, and laces fringed. Long dark hair draped over one shoulder like a curtain.

“Morning Rika-chan,” Makoto greeted kindly.

The girl turned and looked up at them with light lavender eyes. A cut could be seen on her bottom lip as well as a bruise on the swell of her cheek, evidence of her most recent fight. She gave them a hesitant nod before turning back to the kitten. Giving it one more loving pet, she stood and took the stairs down to the street. The boys remained where they were for a moment and watched after her.

“Scary.”

Makoto looked over to Haru. “Hmm? Haru are you scared of her?”

“Aren’t you?” he asked as they made their way down the rest of stairs. “With all the fights she gets into...”

He turned his gaze to where the girl in question was walking ahead of them. “Hmm no not really.”

Haru looked at Makoto with curiosity. “Hu.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

The two continued to walk in silence for a little ways. The sound of the waves crashing on the beach filled the silence between them until Makoto spoke once more.

“You think Rika-chan is scary because she gets into fights?”

“Hmm.” Haru thought for a moment and then nodded. “She always looks so angry too.”

“I think that’s just her resting face. The cuts and bruises make her look harsh but I think she might be really nice.”

Haru brought his gaze up to where Rika was walking ahead of them. “I’ve never seen her smile.”

“Haru I’ve hardly seen you smile,” Makoto noted. “I’m sure people probably think you’re scary for that same reason.”

The dark haired boy frowned, brows stitching together. “No one thinks I’m scary.”

Makoto brought his hand to his mouth to hide his laugh. “No of course not.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You look a mess Rika,” Mei said. “You need to stop getting into so many fights.”

Rika rolled her eyes as she grabbed her school shoes from her locker. Mei and Sakura stood by waiting for her. “Well maybe if people around here weren’t so stupid I wouldn’t have to bother. Besides most of the fights are against bullies. Someone has to put them in their place.”

Sakura chuckled. “Our poor sweet Rika. It must be such a burden for you to be the only hero of Iwatobi.”

Huffing a sigh she closed her locker and began to walk with her friends. “Well it’s not like you two help out any.”

Sakura put her arm around Rika’s shoulders. “Sorry but my parents would freak if I came home with cuts and bruises all the time.”

“And I’m trying to get a boyfriend,” Mei added. “I doubt Makoto-senpai is going to want a girlfriend with a damaged face.”

“As if you could get Tachibana-senpai,” Sakura laughed. Rika joined in as Mei gave them a sour look. “He’s the captain of the swim team. He’s going to want some athletic babe not a girly girl like you.”

Mei pouted her lips and narrowed her eyes at her “friends”. “I was planning on hooking you up with Rei when Makoto-senpai and I started dating Sakura. But now you ruined that chance.”

With a dramatic flip of her hair, Mei stomped off. Rika and Sakura watched after with an amused look. Sakura turned towards Rika. “Isn’t Rei dating Nagisa?”

“Who knows?” Rika wrapped her arm around Sakura’s waist as they began to walk.

“Well in all seriousness Ri, I do want you to be careful and stop fighting so much.” She squeezed the girl to her side. “Remember the conditions your uncle and aunt gave you for living alone?”

Rika sighed and hung her head. “I remember.”

“Then be more careful you idiot! I don’t want you to move away. Then I’ll be left alone with the future Tachibana-san.”

The two laughed as they continued down the hall. As they walked, Sakura talked about how her parents promised her a trip to wherever she wanted if she got good grades and joined a club. Listening to her and seeing her animated expressions, Rika was so grateful to have her as a friend. She was grateful to have both Sakura and Mei, but sometimes Mei was a little much to handle. Sakura was more light hearted and more loving. She was the first one to approach Rika during opening ceremony their first year and from there on they were the best of friends. She only wished that they could be in the same class.

“Well this is your stop.” Sakura detached from the girl and placed her hands on Rika’s shoulders. “Behave yourself. I’ll see you at lunch.”

Rika saluted her friend before turning to go into her classroom. Her smile and good humor fell away as she took her seat.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rika sighed as the time ticked by. The clock in the classroom was so loud, mocking the students as if to say, “every tick is a minute of your youth you won’t get back”. With every tick the teacher’s voice slipped a little more out of Rika’s focus. With every tick she took less notes and doodled more. Growing bored of drawing mismatched eyes and strange stick figures, she turned her attention to outside the window. She hadn’t been daydreaming that long when a group of third years came running past in their P.E. gear.

They all paused at a tree just outside the window, taking a moment to catch their breath or talk. Among the group was Mei’s beloved Tachibana Makoto. Rika let her eyes linger on him, as he panted for air, trying to figure out what Mei liked about the boy. Thinking over Mei’s type she could pick out a few qualities. There was the fact that he was tall (he towered over a little more than half the students), he wasn’t overly popular, and he didn’t have too many friends she would have to win over.

Such a short list of attractive qualities. There were so many things, more important things, which Mei wouldn’t consider when looking for a significant other. For example, a person’s…wait…was he looking at her? Rika sat up a little straighter as her eyes connected with his. Makoto pushed his bangs away from his forehead with one hand and waved with the other. Rika blinked a couple times unsure of what to do. Makoto used his hand to fan himself and mouthed, ‘hot’. She nodded slightly, now sure that he was indeed acknowledging her. Another student came up to Makoto and talked with him for a moment before lifting their armpit to his face. Makoto cringed and pushed the laughing student way while holding his nose.

Rika smiled and tried to hold in her laughter. Makoto shook his head and smiled himself before looking back to her. His eyes widened slightly and the smile faltered on his handsome features. Rika’s own smile dropped and she broke her gaze away from him. Crap. Why had he given her that look? He looked shocked, practically stunned. Was she not supposed to laugh? She chewed on her lower lip and fought the urge to turn her gaze back to see if he was still there.

“Tachibana-kun!” The coach’s voice rang clearly even through the window. “Get a move on!”

Turning her gaze slightly she was able to see his tall form take off to catch up with the rest of the class. Sinking into her seat she prayed that nothing would come of the little occurrence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I saw her smile.” Makoto quickly seated himself in his usual spot on top of the roof.

The others paused in opening up their lunches and looked to him. In unison they asked, “Who?”

“Rika-chan.”

“No way Mako-chan,” cried Nagisa with excitement in his eyes.

“You sure it wasn’t a snarl?” asked Rei adjusting his glasses.

“Are you talking about Hama Rika?” Gou tried to confirm.

Makoto nodded. “Hama Rika. Always in a fight, covered in bandages and bruises. I saw her smile today and if I’m not mistaken she was laughing too.”

“Laughing too?” Haru shook his head. “Wishful thinking Makoto.”

He looked down at his bento sitting in his lap. The others fell into conversation around him while Makoto replayed what he had seen earlier. What he was _sure_ he’d seen earlier. The coach had them running laps around the school, they had all paused at the tree with the most shade which was right by one of the classrooms, which had Rika in it staring out the window.

When he had looked up he found her eyes right on him. He had waved, as was his polite nature. She looked back at him with a confused or startled look. Makoto smiled at the memory of that look on her face. It was almost like the look of a child who wasn’t sure if they were being praised or reprimanded. Was she so unused to being addressed by others in a friendly manner that she didn’t know what to do? Then again she only had two friends in the school and fought with everyone else so it was entirely possible.  

He had only looked away from her for a moment when Wataru insisted on sharing his foul smell caused by the hot day. When he had looked back up…her eyes crinkled, lips parted and revealed teeth, shoulders shaking slightly. It was a nice sight and he had been taken aback seeing her smile when he and Haru had just been talking about never seeing such a thing. If only others had seen it too.

“Hey! Rika-chan is in another fight!”

The students on the roof gathered on one side and peered over the edge. Makoto got up with the others and went over to the ledge. Looking down he saw Rika and two other male students. Others had gathered below to cheer and watch. One of the male students was standing toe to toe with Rika while the other cowered close to the crowd that had gathered.

“It’s none of your business,” bit the student near Rika. “So back off.”

Rika placed her hands on her hips. “I think you’re the one who needs to back off. He said he doesn’t want to go out with you. Take a hint.”

“Look brat, we don’t need you around! Or do you want to have your face pushed into your skull?”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“Oh really?”

“My brain is occupying my skull unlike yours. I’m sure your face would fit just fine inside your skull.”

The crowd laughed and ‘oohed’, including Nagisa’s breathless laughter. Makoto placed a hand over his eyes. What was she trying to do? Peeking through his fingers he saw the student pull back his fist. Makoto’s heart jumped nervously, hands gripping the ledge tightly, as he watched. Rika spun out of the way just in time. She threw her own punch and hit the boy right in the jaw.

He fell back on his butt while Rika shook out her hand as if that would clear the pain. The boy bounded up to his feet and tried to attack again. His fist clipped her arm and sent her stumbling back. As he came at her again she lunged forward and tackled him to the ground. From there the two struggled to gain dominance. Before anything got any worse, a male and a female teacher came running out of the building.

“Hama-chan! Natsume-kun!”

The female teacher grabbed Rika while the male teacher grabbed Natsume. They pulled the two apart and dragged them both inside. Once the action was gone the crowd parted and went separate ways.

“So you’re sure she was smiling and laughing?” Haru asked before moving back to his lunch.

Makoto sighed and dragged a hand down his face.

 


	2. A fight and old feelings

Rika plopped down into one chair while Natsume seated himself in the other. The principal sat across from them behind his desk with a disappointed look. He looked between the two of them quickly to take in the damage. Rika’s nose was bleeding, bruising forming under her right eye, and the cut on her lip was made deeper. Natsume had scratches on his cheeks, dirt around his neck, and his jaw seemed a little off.

“Well seems you two held nothing back,” he spoke with a sigh. “Tell me how the fight started.”

“Natsume was pestering a first year,” Rika spoke before the other boy had the chance. “The boy had rejected him once but he wouldn’t let it go. He kept hounding him so I…”

“I asked her to butt out,” Natsume defended. “This was between me and Yuuji-kun but Rika wouldn’t give us privacy to talk.”

“Yeah because Yuuji-kun didn’t want to talk to you,” she bit back. The two of them turned towards each other to continue the fight. “If he said no the first time you confessed to him what made you think he would change his mind?”

“That’s none of your business brat,” growled Natsume.

“It is when poor Yuuji-kun was begging for help.”

“He wasn’t begging for help!”

“Yes he was! He…”

“Enough!” The principal slammed his hand down on his desk. Both students jumped and quieted. The man set a blazing gaze on the boy. “Natsume-kun, you’re on the wrestling team right?”

He hesitated. “Y-yes sir.”

“I’m reporting this fight to your coach with a warning.” He pointed a finger at him and leaned on his desk slightly. “Anything like this again and I’ll have you kicked off the team.”

Natsume blanched, eyes going wide. “Understood.”

“Dismissed.” He watched as the boy stood and made his way out of the office. Once the door was closed the man turned his gaze to Rika. “Hama-chan…”

“For what it’s worth I’m sorry,” she blurted quickly.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead while leaning back in his chair. “When your aunt and uncle explained you situation to me I thought it was going to be no problem. Send them an update of your grades, your classes, the extra activities you do at school. I never thought I would have to record millions of fights and behavior issues for you.”

Rika fiddled with the hem of her skirt. “It can’t be millions…”

The principal pulled out a folder and set it on the desk. Holding up a stack he said, “This is all the fights and other issues from your first year.” Setting those aside he picked up another stack. “This is from this year, already have enough paper here to make a small tree.”

She chewed on her lip, wincing as her teeth caught the cut. “I swear I’m not getting into fights on purpose.”

The man stood and came around his desk. “Rika-chan you are a nice girl and a good student. I know most of the fights you get into are you trying to help others. However, you are doing damage to yourself. Natsume-kun is one of the best wrestlers we have. If he had slipped or held you the wrong way during that fight you could have seriously been hurt.”

“I know,” she murmured and turned her gaze down.

“Don’t tell me you know. Tell me you understand.”

“I understand sir.”

He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well. For this month you are going to stay after classes and help organize extra material, books, or papers for the teachers.”

She sighed, nodded, and stood. “Can I stop at the nurse’s station before my next class?”

“Yes of course,” he said opening the door for her. Peering out into the hall he snatched a student. “Could you please escort Hama-chan to the nurse?”

“Of course sir.”

Looking past the principal Rika found Makoto with a kind smile resting on his lips.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The halls were empty, everyone back in class, as the two of them made their way towards the nurse’s station. Rika kept her gaze locked ahead of her so she wouldn’t slip and make awkward eye contact with him again. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him dig into one of his pockets.

“Here.”

Looking over to him she saw he was holding out a handkerchief. “What’s that for?”

“Your nose,” he said gesturing to his own. “It’s still bleeding.”

She raised her hand and touched the trail of blood under her nose. “It’s fine. It’ll stop soon.”

“Please Rika-chan.” She finally looked up and saw worry filling his gaze as his brows furrowed.

Rika paused in the hallways causing him to stop next to her. With a sigh she reached out and took the handkerchief. Placing it under her nose the worried look melted from his gaze and changed to a more pleased look. His brows relaxed and an easy smile graced his features. Rika’s heart jumped briefly at the sight.

“Thank you Tachibana-senpai,” she said as she turned to continue walking. Makoto followed beside her. “I’ll wash this before I return it.”

He waved a hand. “You can keep it. My mom has hundreds that she keeps giving me.”

“Thank you Tachibana-senpai,” she repeated.

“You can call me Makoto you know,” he said with a slight laugh. “We have known each other since we were kids.”

Rika hesitated but smiled to herself. If Mei was there she would be dying. Would it be mean spirited to tell Mei about this favor she seemed to hold with Makoto and having been childhood friends? Rika’s smile widened slightly at the thought of Mei’s envious face.

“Then…Makoto-senpai.”

He huffed out a long sigh. “Senpai still? Well guess it’s an improvement.”

She chuckled at the pout that came to his face. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he said slowly, taking in the sound of her small laughter. “You know Rika-chan, you have a nice laugh.” He came to a stop at the nurse’s door and turned to her. “And your smile earlier today…”

He hesitated and scratched his cheek. A little smile came to her lips upon seeing the little tinge of pink that spread across his cheeks. Her stomach twisted as her heart fluttered. Quickly she turned away from him and faced the nurse’s door.

“Uhm thanks. I’m going to get cleaned up now. You should get to class Makoto-senpai.”

“Yeah guess you’re right.” His hand came down on her shoulder making her jump slightly. “See you Rika-chan. Please be more careful with the fighting. I don’t want to have to walk you here all torn up.”

All Rika could manage was something between ‘thank you’ and a cough. Quickly she opened the door and walked in, away from him, his smile, and the warmth of his hand on her shoulder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the nurse set to work, Rika remained still, silent, and thinking. Her heart was still fluttering in her chest and her stomach was still in knots. She hadn’t felt like this around Makoto since they were little. Why was it starting again now? The first time she had felt this sensation was when they were kids and she had gotten into one of her first fights.

She had been at the beach with her parents making some kind of sand creation. Some kid had walked over her creation and refused to apologize for trashing it. Rika had thrown her water bucket at him out of frustration. The two tussled until the boy pushed her down. Before he could continue the fight someone had pushed him back and then turned to help her up.

The one who had helped her had the greenest eyes she had ever seen and a bright warm smile. The boy held out his hand to her and the second his fingers wrapped around her hand she felt her heart leap and her stomach tighten. He introduced himself as Makoto and they had discovered they didn’t live far from each other. That was the moment Rika fell in love with him.

However, she thought those feelings had been lost long ago. Though they lived close to each other they saw very little of each other. If they weren’t in the same school they wouldn’t have seen each other at all. Even now being in the same high school they didn’t talk or really interact. So what if he had given her a kind smile and complimented her laugh? She shouldn’t be reacting like this. Right?


	3. An inviation and doubts

Sakura and Mei had come into Rika’s classroom as soon as the bell had rung. The two began to hound her about the fight while she packed her bag. Don’t get into fights. This is why they had warned her about fighting that morning. Why did she taunt Natsume? Did she really think she would win that fight? What did the nurse say? What had the principal done? Did Natsume try anything else?

“Surprisingly it went well I guess,” Rika said zipping up her bag. “The principal gave us our warnings. The nurse said there was no major damage and that I would just have to make sure I keep all the cuts clean.”

“Well thank God it wasn’t anything worse,” Mei huffed. She shook her head and leaned against Rika’s desk. “I swear for as intelligent as you are Ri, you can still be so stupid.”

“She means that in the most loving way possible,” added Sakura. Rika rolled her eyes.

“Rika,” called one of their classmates. “Tachibana-senpai is looking for you.”

Her eyes widened and her body tensed. The three girls looked to the classroom door and found the tall third year standing in the doorway. He gave Rika a little wave and smile while he waited by the door. Rika looked between her two friends’ shocked and confused faces before heading for the door. Gripping the hem of her blazer she looked up at Makoto and prayed he couldn’t hear her loud heart.

“Makoto-senpai,” she greeted. “Did you need something? Is anything wrong?”

He shrugged. “I just wanted to see how you’re doing. Did the nurse say anything?”

He came to check on her? Specifically wanted to see if she was okay? Was he trying to make her heart burst? “Oh uhm nothing major. She said the bruises would fade, nothing broken, and to keep the cuts clean.”

“Good! That’s great. I’m glad to hear it.”

“Makoto.”

He turned and revealed a shorter boy standing behind him. “Ah Haru.”

“We have practice. Nagisa, Rei, and Gou are waiting,” he said with a monotone voice. His deep blue eyes glittered as he spoke.

Makoto nodded. “Of course. I’ll be there in just a second.”

Rika looked over Haru, recognizing him from their childhood. He had always been attached to Makoto’s side, nothing changed there. The same calm and collected expression held on his features, which had matured with him. Rika recalled seeing him at the beach, walking with Makoto and Nagisa, or at school. He never looked as animated as he did when his friends were around. Whenever she would see him on his own he always looked like a doll walking around in a daze.

Finally Haru nodded and turned. As he walked away Rika whispered, “Scary.” Makoto’s laugh caught her off guard. “What?”

“Nothing,” he giggled. “Do you realize you called Haru scary just now?”

“I said that out loud?” she asked with wide eyes.

Makoto laughed a little more and nodded. “Don’t worry about it. Haru can look harsh but he is a good person. Shy, timid, a bit rude, but kind. Kind of like you I think.”

“Hu.”

“The two of you should talk. Might find that you have some things in common.”

Rika ran a hand through her hair. “We didn’t have anything in common when we were kids. Doubt we would now.”

He shrugged. “You never know. I’m sure Rei, Nagisa, and Gou would like to meet you too. They are in your year after all.”

“Yeah. Guess they are.”

“Well uh,” he began. Makoto rubbed the back of his neck as the pink returned to his cheeks. “Why don’t you come sit with us at lunch? Tomorrow. We sit on the roof.”

Rika gripped tighter to her blazer. “Oh…uhm…maybe…I don’t know.”

“Please?”

Damn his beautiful pleading eyes. “Okay.” Damn that pleased smile.

“Great! Well I should go. I’ll see you tomorrow Rika-chan.”

 _Why?_ _Why did I agree?_ With a sigh she turned and headed back to her desk, forgetting that her friends were there. It was only when Mei grabbed her hand did she remember they were present. Mei watched her with wide eyes, holding her hand in an urgent grip.

“Why was Makoto-senpai looking for you?”

“Uh…”

“And since when did you start calling him Makoto-senpai instead of Tachibana?” asked Sakura with just as much curiosity as Mei.

Rika managed to pull her hand from Mei’s hold. “He walked me to the nurse’s station earlier. The principal asked him to. And he asked me to call him Makoto-senpai instead.”

“Why did he _ask_ you?” pressed Mei.

“We were friends when we were little. Well I say friends but…”

“What? Rika why didn’t you tell me this before?” Mei took her by the shoulders. “Tell me everything!”

Seeing Mei’s reaction wasn’t as much fun as she thought. Grabbing her bag from her desk she began to back away towards the door. “Well I’d love to but I have duties. Punishment, you know, because of the fight. I’ll see you guys tomorrow!”

With that she turned and bolted out of the classroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the afternoon was spent organizing handouts, lugging text books from the supply room, cleaning boards, and bringing new chalk to various classrooms. Rika was glad to have been kept busy so that she didn’t have time to really think about being asked to eat lunch with Makoto and his group or about Mei. Now that she was done and able to go home her mind relentlessly replayed Makoto standing at the doorway of her classroom. She sighed as she got out her regular shoes and placed her school shoes back in the locker.

Starting her walk home she tried to think of a way to handle Mei and how to back out of meeting with Makoto and his friends. With Mei she could say it wasn’t a big deal, which it wasn’t, and tell her there was nothing to be said about when they were kids. Or she could even tell Mei that she was trying to get info on Makoto so Mei had a good chance with him. Rika made a face as the thought came up. No. There was no way she wanted to do that especially when her heart was once more doing flips when he was around.

No she would have to deal with Mei another way. Maybe Sakura could help her come up with some kind plan. As Rika chewed over these thoughts the sound of splashing and loud cries caught her attention. Coming over to the fence she peered in and found the school’s pool. Inside she spotted Nagisa taking a running leap and jumping into the pool with limbs flailing.

“Nagisa-kun,” bellowed Rei from where he stood. “That was not beautiful! Can’t you dive more like Haruka-senpai?”

Nagisa came up from the water laughing. “No one swims like Haru-chan except for Haru-chan.”

From the next lane over Haru bopped his fist lightly against Nagisa’s head. “Drop the ‘chan’. And Rei is right, that was not graceful at all. You can do better than that.”

The blond boy pouted. “Yes, Haru-chan. Rei come help me out so I can try again.”

With a sigh Rei walked over to the edge of the pool and bent down to offer his hand. However, Nagisa gripped tightly and yanked Rei into the pool with wild laughter. As the two bickered and splashed each other, Haru shook his head and dipped under the water. Rika chuckled at the sight, starting to think meeting these guys wouldn’t be so bad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m home,” she called out into the empty house. “Welcome back,” she answered herself.

Setting her bag by the door she kicked off her shoes and padded into the house. Coming into the kitchen she pressed the replay button on the answering machine. She listened to the messages as she moved about getting food. One message was from the library (overdue books), another from her doctor (needed a checkup), and the last from her aunt. Rika paused so that she could listen to the last message.

“Hi Rika,” came her aunt’s cheery voice. “Haven’t heard from you in a while. Hope everything is going well. Are you behaving at school?” Rika made a face and shook her head. “Well anyway sweetie please call us. Your uncle and I would like to hear from you. In fact we were kind of hoping you might come and visit us…maybe stay for a month or longer. We could enroll you in…”

Rika’s finger pressed down hard on the delete button. “Sorry Auntie Lin but no way.”

Moving away from the answering machine, Rika walked back down the hall and grabbed her bag. Pulling out her cell phone she spotted two missed calls, a voicemail, and six texts from Mei. Ignoring them she opened her music app and turned up the volume. Rika began to relax a little more as her music played while she began to cook.


	4. Branching out

“Morning Rika.”

She jumped and bumped her locker at the sudden appearance of her friend. “M-Mei. Good morning. What’s up?”

“Nothing,” she said sweetly. “I’m a little hurt though.”

“Oh?” Rika finished switching her shoes and closed the locker.

Mei sighed as she reached out and played with a few strands of Rika’s hair. “You didn’t call me back last night. Or answer any of my texts.”

Shit. “Oh well you see…”

The other girl pouted and gave Rika puppy dog eyes. “Are you avoiding me Ri?”

“No! Of course not.” _Yes, actually I am._ “You see my phone died.” _I didn’t want to talk to you._   “And I couldn’t find my charger.” _So I hid my phone in my bag all night._

Mei hummed and twirled Rika’s hair for a moment before sending her glance down to the bag hanging off Rika’s shoulder. Mei moved closer and dug in the unzipped bag. “Isn’t this your charger?”

She pulled out the cord and raised a brow. Rika stared blankly for a moment before forcing a laugh. “Oh! There it is! I swear I searched my bag like five times.”

“Silly Rika!” Mei put the cord back before linking her arm with Rika’s.

“Silly me.”

Mei tugged her along, holding her arm lovingly. Rika wished a hole would open in the ground and swallow her up so she didn’t have to be there. She knew Mei was going to bring up what happened yesterday, it was only a matter of time. Where the hell was Sakura when she needed her? At least if Sakura was there she could deflect Mei with her witty sarcasm and save Rika from all the prying Mei no doubt would do. However, Rika couldn’t expect Sakura to save her every time.

“Rika,” began Mei, “you said that you and Makoto-senpai were friends when you were kids.”

“Well when I say _friends_ , I mean we went to the same school and we live close to each other.”

“Really?” Damn. Why had she added that part? “I didn’t know that. How interesting. So what was he like as a kid? I mean can you imagine mini Makoto-senpai? How cute.”

Rika rolled her eyes at Mei’s gushing tone. “He was pretty much the same as he is now.”

As they came around the corner they found their subject of conversation standing down the hall talking with another student. Mei didn’t miss a step while Rika wanted to pause and turn around. She tried to dig her heels into the floor but found that to be pointless considering Mei’s strong determination. They stopped just a little ways back from where he stood.

“Good morning Makoto-senpai.” Mei made her voice cheery and energetic to capture his attention.

He turned from the person he was talking to and smiled at them. “Morning Tanaka-chan. Morning Rika-chan.”

“Morning,” Rika mumbled.

“Rika-chan you’re still going to have lunch with us today right?”

“Uh…”

“Of course she is,” Mei said not missing a beat. “What a kind senpai to give such an invitation.”

Makoto chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. Rika looked to her friend with wide eyes. “Mei.”

“Come on Ri.” Mei gave Rika’s arm a subtle pinch. “You need to branch out and make more friends. Wouldn’t you agree Makoto-senpai?”

He gave her a reassuring smile with a tilt of his head. “We don’t bite I promise. I told everyone you’d be coming and they are excited to meet you.”

Rika nodded. “Well how can I argue with that?”

“Good. I’ll see you at lunch then.”

With a wave he said goodbye and they moved on. Mei held a little tighter to Rika as they continued down the hall to Rika’s classroom. All the while Mei rattled on about how Rika should have told her, that this was her chance to get to know Makoto, and that Rika could put in a good word for her with him. When they finally reached the classroom, Mei turned Rika towards her and held her by the shoulders.

“At lunch be pleasant and friendly. If you keep yourself in Makoto-senpai’s good favor then I can join in and get to know him.”

“The bell is about to ring and your class is at the other end of the hall,” she deadpanned.

Mei sighed. “Rika did you hear anything I said?” When all she got was a blank stare Mei sighed and shook her head. “You’ll have to tell me everything after school. I’ll let Sakura know what’s up.”

With that she smiled, turned, and dashed down the hall. Rika’s shoulders slumped as she dragged herself into the classroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Rika-chan,” came a singsong voice. Nagisa came skipping up to her desk with Rei following behind him. “Yo Rika-chan!”

“Hello Hama-chan,” Rei greeted politely. “We thought we could go up to the roof together.”

“Oh. Thanks.” Rika grabbed her bento and followed the two out. “So is there anything I should know before we reach the roof?”

“Like what?” inquired Rei.

“Well what do you guys usually like to talk about? Is there anything I shouldn’t mention or do?”

Nagisa giggled and gave her a wide smile. “Rika-chan are you nervous? For someone as tough as you it would be kinda funny.”

“Yeah I guess so hu?” She let herself smile at that thought.

“That fight you were in yesterday was amazing though,” he said energetically. He spun around, walking backwards, and continued. “You cracked me up with the whole Natsume doesn’t have a brain thing.”

“Nagisa-kun,” Rei said with a warning in his tone.

“What,” he shrugged and flipped back around. “It was funny. I saw you crack a smile too Rei!”

“Yes well…” He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. “You fight very well Hama-chan. Your movements are very fluid and smooth.”

“Even though I got the crap kicked out of me?” She held up her bandaged arm as evidence.

“Still it was impressive that you took on someone like Natsume.”

“Thanks.”

Reaching the door to the roof, Rei held it open for them. Nagisa led the way to where their group usually sat. Makoto, Haru, and Gou were already sitting and chatting as they walked up. Gou got to her feet as the three of them came closer.

“Glad you could join us Rika!” She stretched out her hand and gave a warm smile. “I’m Matsuoka Gou.”

Rika took the girl’s hand. “Nice to meet you. Hello Makoto-senpai, Nanase-senpai.”

Makoto smiled while Haru remained mute. Rika took a seat between Rei and Gou, feeling safe between his need for precision and the friendliness that came from her. Rika observed the group for a moment as they fell into easy conversation. Nagisa teased Makoto causing him to whine, Rei chastised Nagisa but in vain, Gou tried to keep from laughing and help the older boy, and Haru remained mute and picking at his lunch.

“You’re all on the swim team right?” Rika finally spoke.

“They are,” Gou explained. “I’m their manager.”

“She’s in it for the muscles,” Nagisa added with a smirk.

Gou gave him a sharp look. “S-s-so what? I can appreciate how hard swimmers work to keep up their muscles! They’re beautiful! I’m sure Rei would agree.”

“Swimming has become a beautiful art form to me,” he said pushing up his glasses. “But that doesn’t mean you can ogle us Gou-chan!”

As the two began to argue, Rika chuckled unaware that Makoto and Haru were watching. Makoto nudged his friend and gave him a look. It was as if he were saying, “told you she could smile and laugh”. Haru simply huffed out a breath and continued to eat.

“What did you bring for lunch Rika-chan?” Makoto asked over Rei and Gou’s bickering.

Rika opened her simple lunch. “Just the usual rice, veggies, and mackerel.”

Haru perked up at that. “Mackerel?” She nodded and showed it to them. “That doesn’t look like mackerel.”

“I baked it.”

His eyes seemed to grow brighter, becoming more alert and alive. “You can bake it?”

Rika nodded. “Yeah you can do a lot with it. I have a whole book with different recipes for mackerel. It’s one of the first things I learned to cook on my own.”

“Haru eats mackerel on a daily basis,” Makoto said as he looked over at his friend. “But it’s usually just plain or cooked in some oil.”

“Would you like to try some of this Nanase-senpai?”

Rika held out her bento so he could reach it. Haru shifted to the side and created a space between him and Makoto. Taking his hint, she got up and moved into the new space. The second she was seated, Haru dove in and picked up a piece of the baked fish. He popped it in his mouth and hummed as he chewed. Rika smiled finding it amusing how pleased this boy was by baked fish.

Distracted by Haru switching his fish for hers, Rika didn’t notice Makoto leaning towards her until his knee bumped hers. “Seems like you two do have something in common after all.”

Slowly she turned her gaze to him, finding that he was a little closer than she thought. “Yeah guess so.”

“I’m really glad you came Rika-chan.”

Oh. Why had she ever given up on her feelings for this boy? The warmth that was radiating from those green eyes was enough to light another sun. Or well at least enough to make her blush from head to toe.

She nodded and moved her gaze away from him. “Well thanks for inviting me to come up.”

“You’ll be back tomorrow right?” Haru had switched the mackerel and was now happily stuffing it into his mouth.

“Yeah come back tomorrow,” added Nagisa. Rei and Gou nodded in agreement.

Rika nodded. “Sure.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nagisa, Rei, Gou, and Rika walked back down together. As they walked they talked over what they were learning in class, the tests that were coming up, and forming a study group. As the bell rang the four of them split to their separate classes. As Rika went into her room she felt better than she had in a while. She had really enjoyed meeting the others and spending this time with them. Of course she loved spending time with Sakura and Mei but it was nice to have a break and change of environment.

As class began Rika supposed she should thank Mei, whatever her intentions, for pushing her to go. The rest of the day passed peacefully and quickly. Once again as Rika packed her bag, Sakura and Mei made their way to her and hounded her with questions. Rika answered them as quickly and briefly as possible, not giving much detail, wanting to keep the experience for herself.

“Well I have duties,” she said as an escape. Giving her friends a wave she took off.


	5. The walk home

Makoto yawned and stretched as he waited for Haru just outside the front doors of the school. Letting out another yawn and rubbing his eyes, he saw Rika walking towards the gate.

“Rika-chan!” She stopped and turned. He jogged over to where she waited. “Hey you’re here late. Were you doing something for a club?”

“No nothing like that,” she sighed. “It’s my punishment for the fight. I have to help the teachers do stuff.”

He nodded. “I see. For how long?”

“A month.”

“Well it could be worse right?”

She gave him a smile. “Yeah I suppose.”

Makoto felt his cheeks heat slightly as he began to fidget. The shower of small smiles he was seeing was enough to make him unsure of what he knew about her demeanor. He hadn’t seen her smile since grade school and now… “Are you on your way home?”

Rika nodded. “Yeah finally. Did you have swim practice?”

“Yeah. I’m waiting for Haru. Would…would you like to walk home with us?”

“Oh…uhm that’s okay. I’ll just see you tomorrow.”

“Why?” They both looked to find Haru standing behind Makoto. His expression was blank but his eyes were lively with the light from the setting sun. “You live close to Makoto right? We’re going in the same direction anyway.”

“Yeah but…you see…” She racked her brain for some kind of excuse, still feeling somewhat awkward around both of the older boys.

“Plus it will be dark by the time we get home. It’s safer for all of us to walk in a group.”

Rika sighed. Haru was not going to give it up. “Yeah, guess you’re right.”

“Good,” Makoto smiled. “The three of us will walk home. Ready?”

Haru and Rika nodded in agreement. The three of them fell into a comfortable pace as they began to walk. As they walked silently, Makoto thanked every god he could think of that Haru and Rika seemed to be getting along. He looked over to where the two were walking next to each other quietly. He smiled, pleased that he could reconnect with this girl and gain another friend.

“So how was practice?” she voiced.

“Fine,” answered Haru. “We need to work on our relay. Wouldn’t you say captain?”

Makoto nodded. “Mmhm. We’re getting there though. I think we will be ready by the time the next race comes along.”

Rika nodded. “Cool. When is the next race?”

“In a month or so, before it starts to get colder.”

“Would you like to come,” Haru asked quietly.

Rika looked at him with slight shock. Makoto’s smile grew as she nodded and thanked Haru for the invitation. Putting her gaze forward, Rika let another smile illuminate her features. She really did have a nice smile. It pushed her cheeks up so that the corners of her eyes crinkled. Her long eyelashes just brushed against the swell of her cheeks.

The slowly fading light of the day danced in her eyes, giving the lavender color a more unearthly look. Her long dark hair fluttered behind her as she walked, the small breeze sending it out in little curls. She really was a nice looking girl, even with all the bruises and scratches that covered her skin.

Makoto glanced over past Rika and spotted Haru watching him. “What?”

“Nothing.” Haru paused on the landing of the stairs before turning to them. “Well see you tomorrow.”

“Night Haru.”

“Bye Nanase-senpai.”

“See you tomorrow Rika-chan,” Haru said with a little wave.

Makoto and Rika remained on the landing until Haru was out of sight. The two then turned and took to the stairs that led to their homes. They walked quietly, their footsteps creating a rhythm on the stairs.

“So it wasn’t that bad today was it?” he finally voiced.

Rika looked over her shoulder to him. “What wasn’t?”

“Talking with Haru and sitting with us.”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Maybe I can bring him some baked mackerel tomorrow too.”

“I’m sure he would like that,” he smiled as he paused in front of his house. “Well goodnight Rika-chan.”

“Night Makoto-senpai.”

Before she could turn to leave he stopped her. “You know, maybe you could walk with me and Haru to and from school. I mean we do live next to each other.”

“That might be nice,” she agreed a little to his surprise.

“Good! Well then I’ll see you in the morning.”

She nodded before turning and heading to her own home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Who were you talking to Mako?” asked his mother as he came inside.

“Rika.” He plopped down into one of the chairs at the table. “She lives a couple houses down.”

His mother paused in her preparations for dinner. “Oh Hama-chan?”

“Mmhm.”

“How is she? I don’t think I’ve seen her since you kids were little.”

Makoto watched as his mother came and sat with him at the table. “She gets into fights a lot and comes off as kind of cold. She is really nice, pretty shy I think, but she has been smiling quite a bit.”

“I see,” nodded his mother.

“She ate lunch with us today. I think she had fun.” He smiled as he thought over the time she had spent with them. “She and Haru are getting along.”

“Haru-chan is getting along with a stranger?” His mother chuckled. “Well that is unexpected. Hama-chan must have charmed him.”

“Yeah with mackerel,” Makoto laughed.

She laughed and shook her head before a sad look came to her warm eyes. “It would be nice if you boys be friends with her. That poor girl could use all the friends she can get.”

Makoto sat up a little more in his chair. “Why do you say that?”

“You might not remember but her parents passed away the summer before her first year of high school.”

Makoto’s eyes widened. No that was something he didn’t remember. Was it because they were a year apart? Was it because they weren’t close at the time? No matter the reason, hearing it now broke his heart. Was that the reason for all the fights she got into? Was that why she seemed unapproachable unless she was around the only two friends she had?

His mother sighed and brought him out of his thoughts. “I feel like a bad neighbor. I’ve wanted to go over and make sure she is okay or has what she needs. I figured that if she truly did need anything she would just ask family. Still, be kind to her Mako.”

He nodded wholeheartedly. “Of course.”

She gave him a smile and placed a hand to his cheek. “That’s my boy.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He had asked her to walk with them to school. Maybe he would ask her to walk home with them after school. She would get to have lunch with them again tomorrow too. Maybe Rei and Nagisa would come to her class to get her again. Maybe Gou would be with them. With all these ideas floating in her head she felt like a giddy child at daycare making new friends. But it didn’t matter, Rika liked the feeling and soaked up every bit of it. As a child she always seemed to make temporary friends. Sakura and Mei were the first permanent friends so the prospect of making more was exciting.

Not to mention the fact that it was also a chance to see if what she was starting to feel around Makoto was a fluke or true feelings rekindling. And she could see if there was something behind his sunny smiles and little glances. Rika bit her lower lip to try and stop the smile that began to spread across her face. As they had been walking home she had caught sight of him watching her out of the corner of her eye. Unable to hold the smile back, she let her lower lip go, and pressed her hands to her cheeks.

The ring of her cell phone brought her out of her daze. Still smiling like a goof she pulled the object out of her bag and opened the text waiting for her.

_You owe me information on what happened today!_

Rika sighed, her smile faltering a bit. _Already told you everything._

 _Hardly! >=( _ _Come on Rika! What was your lunch date with Makoto-senpai like? Is Nanase-senpai as mysterious as he looks? Did Makoto-senpai say anything about me? What did you talk about with that group?_

Was it wrong that Rika didn’t want to tell her anything and keep the swim group for herself? Besides that, Rika didn’t want to give Mei any information about Makoto seeing as she might have feelings for the third year as well. Was it wrong for her to feel the slightest tinge of possessiveness when it came to him?

It would most likely come back to haunt her. With a shrug Rika typed out a message about being tired, having a lot of work to do, and wanting to talk about it tomorrow. Setting her phone aside she decided that she could deal with Mei and putting her own feelings before her friend’s when the issue really came up.


	6. A crush?

The doorbell rang just as she finished packing up her bento with extra mackerel for Haru. Rika jumped at the sound of the bell, not used to hearing it, and knowing that Makoto stood on the other side. Taking a deep breath she shoved everything into her bag and made her way to the door. Just as she was about to shove her shoes on the phone rang.

Taking a quick look at the number she recognized it was her uncle’s. “Aww geez.” Quickly she picked it up. “Uncle Hatori…”

“Hey kiddo,” came his cheerful voice from the other end. “Glad I caught you.”

“Look I have to…”

“I know you’ve got school,” he cut her off. “But I just wanted to let you know your aunt and I talked with your principal and set up a meeting.”

Her heart full on stopped for a good minute. “What?”

He picked up on the worry in her tone and chuckled. “Don’t worry it’s just for our monthly meeting. You know so we can come see you and see how school is going. Have anything you want to fess up to now?”

“…N-no. Not particularly.” Crap she hesitated too long. She didn’t sound confident at all and he would know.

“Rika.”

“Everything is fine! Geez.” She sighed and dragged a hand down her face. The doorbell rang again and once more she practically jumped out of her skin. “Look I have to go now.”

“Who’s at the door?”

“My friend. He’s walking me to school.” Rika slung her bag over her shoulder. “I really have to go. I don’t want him to wait anymore.”

“ _He_? The last time I heard about friends they were named Sakura-chan and Mei-chan. Unless they are boys.”

Rika sighed and let out a small annoyed growl. “I’ve made some other friends.”

“That’s great!” He was far too excited about this news. “Oh Rika that really is…well your aunt will be so happy. And a _he_ no less. Is this a crush or just a friend?”

“Uncle Hatori,” she groaned.

He laughed. “I know, I know. You’ll probably want to talk with your aunt about boys more than me. But I can give you dating advice too if you need.”

“Oh my God,” she half whispered. “I need to go. I’ll talk to you later.”

Without waiting for a response she hung up and set the phone aside. Shaking her head she shoved her feet into her shoes. Quickly she opened the door and found the towering third year that sent her heart into a frenzy. His usual Makoto-sunshine smile came to his lips as she came into view.

“Morning,” he greeted.

“I’m sorry Makoto-senpai. My uncle called to check in on me and he could talk forever.” She turned and closed the door behind her before locking it. “I didn’t mean to make you wait out here so long.” Turning back around she caught sight of his expression change. “Makoto-senpai?”

His brows were pulled up into a worrying manner, his large eyes drooping down with concern, and his mouth no longer smiling but tugging down into a frown. His eyes watched her so carefully, searching her expression for something. What was this expression for? It didn’t fit his happy puppy personality at all and it made Rika feel a tug of worry.

“I-is everything okay? With you I mean?” he asked after a moment.

Rika nodded as she tucked her keys into her bag. “Yeah of course. We should probably get going.”

Before she could move past him, Makoto held her by the shoulders. “Rika-chan if you ever need anything you can always come to me. And I mean _anything_ , at all. If you need food, emotional support, help on homework, anything. I’m a couple houses down and my parents will help in any way they can too.”

She blinked a couple times, the warmth from his palms soaking into her. “Okay…thanks. That’s really nice of you Makoto-senpai.”

With a sigh that worried look disappeared from his countenance and was replaced by his usual easy expression. “I mean it you know.”

“I know,” she nodded.

He gave her shoulders a little squeeze before letting his hands drop. The warmth from his hands began to leave her as they began to walk towards the stairs. Rika sighed and rubbed a hand over her shoulder where he had held her. Watching the boy walking in front of her, she thought over what he had said. What had brought all that on? It was very nice of him and she appreciated knowing that she could go to him for anything but…it was like a sudden burst of concern. Did he do that with all of his friends? Was it just because they were becoming friends and he wanted to lay out the conditions for being friends?

Shaking her head she decided she was thinking about this too hard. She should be enjoying this new relationship and not analyzing it. Coming to a pause behind him, Rika marveled at how warm his hands had been. Makoto knocked on the door but there was no answer. Rika peeked around him as he knocked again a little louder.

“Geez,” he sighed. He slid the door open and stepped in. “Haru? It’s Makoto and Rika-chan. We’re coming in. Excuse the intrusion.”

He gestured for her to follow him inside and closed the door behind them. He kicked off his shoes and moved further into the house. Rika watched as he gestured for her to wait while he made his way towards the stairs. She remained where she was looking around the little entrance way. After a moment she heard a shriek come from up the stairs. A moment later Haru came padding down the stairs, adjusting the band of his swimsuit, a towel slung around his shoulders, and a sour look to him. Makoto came almost directly after him with a frantic expression and blush tinging his cheeks.

“If I’d known you were such a perv,” Haru mumbled.

“N-n-no!” Makoto waved his hands as he came down the stairs. “I didn’t know. The one time you’re actually taking a bath and not just dwelling in the water…” He covered his face with a hand.

“Tch.” Haru glanced to where Rika stood as he walked towards the kitchen. “Morning.”

“Morning,” she said slowly. Glancing to the other boy with a confused expression she said, “What just…”

He raised a hand to stop her. “Don’t ask.”

Haru poked his head out of the kitchen doorway. “Rika-chan are you going to come in or just stand by the door?”

“Uhm.” She glanced to Makoto before looking back at him. “Shouldn’t you be getting dressed for school?”

Haru looked back at her with a bored expression before disappearing back into the kitchen. “You sound like him.”

“He likes to make mackerel every morning,” Makoto said in answer to her questioning gaze. “I harp on him about how late we are going to be for school.” He raised his voice for the last part so Haru could hear him.

“Oh. Well I already made him mackerel for today.”

Haru poked his head out of the kitchen again while Makoto looked to her a little taken aback. “You…made mackerel for him?”

She shrugged. “Well he liked it so much yesterday so I figured…did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Makoto answered a little too quickly. “Of course not. That was very nice Rika-chan. See Haru you already have mackerel for today so let’s get going.”

“Yes, yes.” Haru came out of the kitchen and began to remove the apron he was wearing. “I’ll go get ready.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Makoto chewed on the inside of his cheek as he walked alongside Rika and Haru. The two chatted while he remained silent and thinking. She made mackerel for him? Why? Did she want to win him over that much? No. No she was probably doing it to be nice and form more of a friendship with him. She had discovered yesterday that he wasn’t as scary as he seemed so she was probably seeing how well they connected.

“Let me have some,” he heard Haru say.

“No,” came Rika’s response. “Wait to eat this at lunch.”

“But I’m starving. I didn’t have breakfast.”

“Who’s problem is that? If you hadn’t taken so long this morning…”

“Ugh you really sound like Makoto. I only need one of you nagging me.”

Makoto smirked at the conversation. Yeah they were just forming their own relationship. Nothing to worry over. Why would he worry in the first place? It wasn’t as if Rika could only be his friend. He wanted her to connect with the others so she had more friends. Especially knowing a little more about her situation. And yet…there was something about Rika that made him want to hide her away so only he could help her. She made his skin feel warm, made his heart jump, made him uncertain about his own feelings. For example he could almost swear that he was feeling jealous of Haru at this moment.

He shook his head to clear the thoughts. That was ridiculous. There was no reason to be jealous of Haru talking with Rika or her making food for him. He could understand feeling jealous if Rika was something more than a friend to Makoto. Like if he had a crush on her but…wait…no surely he didn’t…how? How could he have developed a crush after only just reconnecting with her? He looked over to where she walked beside him, still talking away with Haru.

He liked Rika that was true enough. Just last night he was thinking how nice she looked in the setting sun but it wasn’t just looks. He liked how she tried to protect others, how awkward she was beneath her hard front, how she smiled, how she had decided to call him Makoto-senpai instead of Tachibana-senpai.

Could he really have developed a crush that quickly? He liked her and he wanted to support her in any way he could. That was why he had said what he did that morning but could part of it have been that he also had begun to fall for her?

“…senpai? Makoto-senpai?” Her voice brought him out of his thoughts.

“Hm?”

Rika raised her brows as a small amused smile came to her lips. “I said I’ll see you and Nanase-senpai at lunch.”

“Oh.” Looking around he found himself at the shoe lockers. When had they gotten to school? “Right. Yeah see you at lunch. Have a good day Rika-chan.”

“You too.” She waved before heading down the hall.

Makoto sighed and turned to his friend. “I was on autopilot wasn’t I?”

Haru nodded and gave him a look. “You’re lucky I was able to keep Rika-chan talking so she didn’t notice you staring at her. It was kinda creepy.”

“Oi I’m not creepy.” He swapped his shoes quickly so they could get to class before the bell rang. “I was just spaced out.”

“Yeah and staring at her pretty intensely.” Haru scrunched up his nose. “It was weird.”

“Haru,” he groaned.

“What were you spacing out about anyway?” he asked as they walked to their room.

He shrugged. “Stuff.”

“Hmm.”

Haru went silent making Makoto glad not to have any more questions thrown at him.


	7. Shiver

“You’re having lunch with them again?” Sakura asked as she and Mei pulled up a desk beside Rika. “Wow. They must like you hu?”

Rika shrugged as Mei shrieked and clapped. “Oh Rika! Well done! You’ve been accepted into their group!”

Sakura rolled her eyes as she opened her bento. “Of course you’d be squealing over that.”

Mei gripped Sakura’s arm. “Don’t you know what that means Sakura? If Rika is in with them then we can be too! That means I’ll be able to get close to Makoto-senpai and you can get close to Rei.”

“I’m pretty sure Rei is dating Nagisa,” she sighed.

“We’re not actually.” The three girls turned to find Rei and Nagisa both standing behind Rika’s desk. Rei adjusted his glasses. “We’re just close friends.”

“Rei doesn’t believe in romantic love,” Nagisa explained with the hint of a sigh to his voice. “It’s not beautiful.”

“Nor logical,” Rei finished.

Sakura nodded and shrugged. “I’ll agree with that. You guys here to kidnap Rika?”

“You bet cha!” Nagisa gave them a thumbs up and a wide smile.

“If you don’t mind us borrowing her for some time,” added Rei.

Mei jumped up from her seat and began to lift Rika from hers. “Not at all. You guys can have her for as long as you need! Go on now.”

Rika made a face as the other girl pushed her towards the boys. “Oi Mei…”

“Go on Rika.” She lowered her voice so only Rika could hear. “Remember if you get in, then we get in. Go.”

Rika stumbled forward, bento in hand, and joined the boys. As they walked out of the classroom she glanced over her shoulder at her friends. Sakura waved as she began to eat while Mei excitedly gave her a thumbs up. Shaking her head, Rika followed Rei and Nagisa as they made their way down the hall towards the roof entrance.

As they walked Nagisa energetically talked about their race coming up in a month and how hard they had been practicing for it. Rei joined in with him here and there explaining certain strokes and rules of a relay race. She was so engrossed by them that she did not notice they had walked by Natsume and part of his wrestling team. The smile on her lips died quickly as their taunt reached her ears.

“What’s this?” came one of the boy’s voices. “Rika the fighter and the swimming dorks?”

Rika stopped, causing Rei and Nagisa to stop as well, and clenched her bento in her hands. A hard glare set in her eyes as irritation rose from her toes and climbed up.

“What’s the matter Rika?” taunted another boy. “Afraid to walk down the hall on your own? Need the swimming boys as bodyguards?”

The others laughed only making the irritation burn hotter inside her.

“She should be scared.”

“She knows she would be taken out in a second if we got to her.”

“Lucky she has her bodyguards with her. Otherwise she’d be in trouble.”

Before anymore could be said and before she could make a move, Rei placed his hand on her shoulder. Rika felt the irritation leave her as he gave her shoulder a light squeeze. Her tight grip on her lunch eased a little as Nagisa came up on her other side.

“Hey, hey Rika don’t listen to them. They’re not worth another fight.”

“He is right,” chimed in Rei with an adjustment of his glasses. “Don’t waste energy on them anymore.”

Nagisa nudged her and smiled widely. “But if you do want to fight we’ll join in. Right Rei?”

She looked between the two and felt her shoulders sag and relax. “You’re right. Let’s just go.”

As the three picked up their pace again, the group of boys laughed. Rika looked over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at the group. Natsume, who had been sneering with his buddies, blanched. Nagisa followed behind but not before pulling down the bottom of his eye and sticking out his tongue at the others.

 _They’re right_ , she thought to herself. _I don’t need to get into another fight. I’m already in trouble as it is. Especially with aunt and uncle coming at some point. If Rei and Nagisa hadn’t been here…_

She looked between the two boys, grateful that they had been there and talked her out of another trip to the principal’s office. Maybe with them around she wouldn’t get into as many fights. Maybe with these new friends she could have a peaceful time at high school. Maybe she could stop feeling like the “hero of Iwatobi” as Sakura had called her.

Also she didn’t want to disappoint Makoto. If she got into a fight with this group she would for sure end up with more bruises and scars. Makoto had walked her to the nurse once like that and the look on his face and the sound of his voice made it an experience she did not want to repeat.

“Did you see Natsume’s face when he saw Rika?” Nagisa’s voice brought her out of her thoughts. He moved forward and flipped to walk backwards in front of them. Nagisa mocked the expression the other boy had making her and Rei laugh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You guys look happy,” Gou said as they came over to the group. “Did something happen?”

“Rika scared the color out of Natsume,” Nagisa said happily as he took a seat.

Makoto’s eyes shot up to Rika. “You didn’t get into another fight did you?”

“No Makoto-senpai. I didn’t.”

He gave a sigh of relief. Next to him Haru scooted himself over so there was a space between him and Makoto. Rika moved over to the space and sat as if that had been her spot for years. The second she had settled into the spot, Makoto became very aware of her presence. Every shift she made to get comfortable on the ground, how her fingers moved to open her lunch, the small space between her knee and his, the brush of her elbow on his arm as she handed Haru his mackerel.

Makoto wasn’t sure what they had talked about as they began to eat. He listened intently to the sound of Rika’s voice but didn’t focus on the words. Her knee had closed the few inches there had been and lightly rested against his. Makoto swallowed his food and chanced looking over to her. A smile was plastered to her lips as a laugh rang out. He watched as her body shook with laughter, her hair falling over her shoulder as she curled in on herself, and her eyes closing as tears came to the corners.

His heart throbbed at the sight. That was the biggest he’d seen her smile and the loudest he’d heard her laugh. Who did it? Who had her doubling over like that? What had they said or done to get a reaction like that? If he could make her laugh like that he would be happy for years. A smile tugged onto his own lips as he watched her try to regain her breath. This was definitely a crush and he was more than happy to have it.

“Makoto.” He felt a jab to his cheek. Haru reached over Rika and poked him with the end of a chopstick. “Did you hear Gou?”

“Hm?” He perked up and looked over at the red head. He rubbed the back of his neck as he said, “Sorry Gou. What were you saying?”

She waved it away before speaking. “Just that Rika should come see you guys practice sometime. Rei and Nagisa were explaining the relay to her. But I think it’s something you have to see. What do you think?”

“Yeah,” he answered quickly and nodding his head vigorously. “Yeah of course! You’re always welcome to stop by the pool.”

She hesitated for a moment, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers. “Thanks. I…I’ll keep that in mind.”

What? Did he say something wrong? Where had that wide smile gone? She had relaxed, let her knee touch his, laughed and smiled. Now her knee was pulled away, her shoulders were set in a tight ridge, and the smiling and laughing had stopped. How could he make her relax again?

“So,” he began slowly as he tried to think. “You ran into Natsume?”

She nodded. “And a few of his group.”

“And?” He dipped his head to try and catch her eye.

“And they taunted and picked at me. But Rei and Nagisa told me it wasn’t worth a fight.” She paused for a moment and looked at him with a small smile. Good. “And they’re right. Those guys will always be against me but throttling them won’t change that.”

“I’m really glad that you didn’t get into another fight Rika-chan.” He smiled and bumped his shoulder with hers playfully. “Keep what Nagisa and Rei said in mind when you get into a situation.”

Pink spread across the bridge of her nose to her cheeks. “Well that wasn’t the only thing stopping me. You said you didn’t want to take me to the nurse all beat up again so…”

He chuckled feeling his heart thrum against his chest. Had she been thinking of him and what he had told her that time? “You’re right. Thank you for considering that.”

The pink deepened on her cheeks as she moved her hands from fiddling with her hair to fiddling with her skirt. “Sure.”

 _Cute. She looks cute when she is embarrassed like that. She looks cute when she smiles. Rika is cute._ A shiver spread through him as he watched her. 

The bell rang, signaling that it was time for the students to return to their cages. Makoto got to his feet before offering a hand to help Rika up. The group walked down from the roof together talking adamantly about what needed to be done at practice that day. Makoto half listened as he walked by Rika.

“You should see how Nagisa belly flops into the pool,” he chuckled causing the blond to stick his tongue out.

Rika laughed. “Well I’ll have to maybe see it after this month. Still have my duties after school.”

“Ah that’s right.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he thought. “Well maybe you can sneak away early sometime.”

Rika stopped at the stairs having to part from the others to go to her class. “We’ll see. I’ll see you for our walk home.”

Makoto nodded and waved as he watched her go down the stairs with Gou, Rei, and Nagisa. As he and Haru walked back to their class he thought over having her come to the pool. He wanted her to come and see their practice for a few different reasons. She would be able to see what a relay looks like, spend more time with them, and he would also get to show off his backstroke. Haru had invited her to their next race so hopefully if she didn’t come to the pool she would come to the race and see his swimming then. Just thinking of having Rika around sent a shiver down his back though a blush was creeping up his neck.


	8. The wrong words

The week continued on in the same fashion. Every morning Makoto would meet Rika at her door, the two of them would make the trek up to Haru’s, both would coax him into hurrying for school, and the three would walk together. Every afternoon Rei and Nagisa or Gou would come and meet Rika at her classroom, they would go up to the roof, they would eat and talk, and then it was back to class. After Rika’s punishment duties and the boys’ swim practice, Makoto, Haru, and Rika would walk home together. Throughout all of this were more kind exchanges, stolen glances, and two faces crimson with blushes. Haru simply rolled his eyes at the two, observing and taking note of how they acted around each other.

However much time she spent with her new friends and getting a little closer to Makoto, it was the time away from them that had Rika irritated. It was a combination of more prying texts from Mei and the relentless taunting from Natsume’s group. Rika found herself grinding her teeth as frustration bubbled inside her until that sunbeam smile from Makoto hit her and things seemed a little less stressful. Yet the stress would return the moment she said goodbye and they went their separate ways for the night. Needless to say an urge to punch something grew stronger a little more each time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Rika stood at the top of a hill, a very tall, very steep hill. There was no real end to it, it just seemed to get darker as it went on. The echo of voices rose up to her as she stood looking down. The sounds of taunts from classmates, chides from Sakura and Mei, the messages from her aunt and uncle all played simultaneously. Staring down the hill she could feel herself starting to shift forward. Her heels left the ground, tipping forward, till she was on her tiptoes. Her breath caught in her throat as she tumbled head first down the hill._

_Rika formed into a ball as she rolled down, cuts and bruises forming on her skin though she was rolling too quickly to really hit anything. She rolled down, down, down into the darkness that began to grow around her. Finally she caught on a rock and righted herself. She was once again upright but quickly tipping onto her tiptoes ready for another round of rolling into the dark. However, just before she could topple head first a hand caught the sleeve of her sweater. Rika was pulled back and held by a pair of sturdy arms._

_“Don’t,” begged a voice at her ear. “Please Rika.” It was Makoto, she would recognize that wonderful voice anywhere. “Please be more careful. No more.”_

_His arms tightened around her and held her closer to him. Her back pressed against his chest, his chin resting on her shoulder, as he spoke into her ear. He was so warm, so strong, so safe. Rika’s fingers clamped down on one of his arms looped around her. She leaned back against him heavily, tugging away from the pull to keep falling forward._

_“No more,” she agreed._

_She tried to turn so she could see his big green eyes and that clear tender smile but his hold wouldn’t budge. Makoto kept her tight against his chest and repeated his words over and over. Rika sighed and gripped tighter to his arms. Then suddenly music began to mix in with his words, the music slowly drowning out Makoto’s voice._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Was the song part of her dream? Or had she left a radio on somewhere in the house? Was her laptop on? Rika cracked an eye open, face squished into her pillow, and tried to find the source of the blaring song. Finally her brain woke and realized it was the ringtone of her cell. With a groan she stretched a hand out from beneath her comforter and fumbled to find the object. Her fingers finally clamped down on it and with another groan she brought it up to her ear.

“Hallo?” she answered in a heavy voice.

“Oh Rika,” came her aunt’s always chipper voice. “Did I wake you? Sorry sweetie. Thought you’d be up by now.”

“Mmm,” came the response.

“I just wanted to call and confirm with you when we were coming into Iwatobi.”

“Mmm.”

“Your uncle mentioned it didn’t he?”

“Yeah,” she yawned. “Said you set up the meeting with the principal.”

“The monthly meeting. Well we will be up next Friday.” She paused for a moment causing Rika to wake a little more. Rika listened, waiting for her aunt to speak. “Is everything okay Rika? You don’t feel lonely?”

Rika sighed at the sad tone in her aunt’s voice. It was hesitant, sad even. Rika knew her aunt wanted her to come live with them more than anything. She always loved having Rika around, even when her parents were alive, saying she always wanted a little girl. And Rika did love Lin and Hatori, of course she did. But she couldn’t leave the house where she had grown up and had memories of her parents.

“Everything is fine. I even made some new friends.”

“Your uncle said something about that.” The cheery tone was back and in full force. “That’s wonderful. Something about a _boy_ walking you to school?”

A small smile spread across Rika’s face. “Makoto-senpai. I kinda knew him when we were kids. He lives nearby. We walk together with Nanase-senpai.”

“That’s wonderful Rika. Well then Uncle Hatori and I will see you soon!”

“Sounds good Auntie Lin.”

After a few goodbyes, I love yous, and see you soons Rika hung up and checked the time. It was early, too early, and she could sleep a little more before school. Just a little bit longer till she had to get up and get ready. Few more minutes…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you’re sleepy can you ever judge time correctly? You always think, “well ten more minutes won’t hurt” or “I get ready fast so it won’t be a problem if I have five more minutes”. Rika’s few more minutes turned into an extra hour. Startling awake she grabbed her phone and jumped from her bed. Makoto would be at her door in any second and she was nowhere near ready. Scrambling around her room for her uniform, Rika was thankful that she had gotten Makoto’s number over the week. Quickly she tapped out a message to him so that he wouldn’t show up at her door while she was a mess.

_Woke up late! Meet you at the bottom landing to Haru’s stairs. Sorry!_

_No worries! Meet you there :)_

“Thank God,” she whispered to herself as she threw on her uniform.

Rika dashed around the house, throwing books into her bag, putting together random foods in her bento (sorry Haru no mackerel today), and finally shoving her shoes on her feet. Tugging the door open she was met with a dull clouded sky and a chill. Well so much for the cooler weather coming in slowly. As she began to run towards the stairs she hoped the swim race coming up would be okay with this weather change. She was happy Haru had invited her to come along and see it but that didn’t stop the anxiety that burrowed into her heart. The same anxiety that had rooted in place when Gou had said for her to come to the school pool to watch one of their practices. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go and see them. She would love to see one of their practices and see them goofing off. It was just the fact that the pool was part of that. The pool was the main cause of the anxiety all because of the little fact that---wait is that Makoto cuddling a kitten in his arms or was she still asleep?

Pausing on the last step she watched for a long moment. Makoto cradled the small creature in his arms, bringing it up to touch his nose to the small pink one. His eyes closed as he smiled and chuckled. He used the tips of his fingers to timidly pet the little head of the kitten who meowed in response.

“What?” Makoto asked with a chuckle. Rika froze with wide eyes thinking he realized her presence. The kitten meowed again and rubbed against his hand. “I can’t pet you all day you know.”

Rika sighed and let her shoulders slump. _Oh he was talking to the kitten. So adorable. Makoto is adorable_. _Big adorable Makoto._

The kitten scratched at his hand. “I’m waiting for an important friend. When she gets here I have to go. Okay?”

Her heart skipped. _Important friend_. He was talking about her. As quietly as she could, Rika climbed back up a couple of steps. She was glad he hadn’t noticed her so she could see that little scene. It was unbearably cute and was something she could keep for herself. Once she was up a few steps she made sure to stomp her way down to get his attention. Makoto turned to see her jump down the last two steps.

“I’m really sorry,” she said pretending to try and catch her breath. “I lost track of the time.” She gave a bow. “Sorry Makoto-senpai!”

He snorted and shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Just gives Haru more time to go through his routine.”

She pointed to the kitten in his arms. “And you more time to play with Yuki.”

“Yuki? You named him?”

“Well he’s white like snow so,” she shrugged and gripped onto the hem of her skirt. “It’s not very original I know.”

He looked down at the kitten and nudged a little paw with his finger. “No I think it’s perfect.”

 _You’re perfect_. Rika bit her lip. “Well we should probably get Nanase-senpai. We’ll have to run to school as it is.”

With a nod Makoto set the kitten down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rika had one hand on Sakura’s back and the other on Mei’s. She pushed them forward gently so as to stretch out before they began their P.E. class. Their classmates did the same around them, Nagisa causing the usual commotion while Rei and Gou tried to act they didn’t know him. Rika chuckled as she watched.

“Oh Ri,” chirped Mei, “I forgot to tell you about the plan.”

“What plan?” She pushed a little more on Sakura’s back. The irritation that was becoming more regular when Mei spoke began to bubble.

“You’re going to regret asking,” Sakura said with a shake of her head.

Mei moved out from under Rika’s hand and stood in front of her and Sakura. “Okay so I have it all mapped out! I call it the “Tachibana happily ever after” plan.”

“Regret asking Ri?”

“Immensely.”

“Hush,” commanded Mei. “Now the plan. I figured out that if this next week Sakura and I come eat lunch with you and the others I will be right on track. Over the next two weeks I’ll get closer to Makoto-senpai, figure out what he likes in girls as far as looks, fashion, and whatnot. Then at the end of the month we’ll share a beautiful confession to each other. Next will come a few dates scattered throughout that next month….”

 _Please make her stop talking._ Rika rolled her eyes as Mei continued on about her plan to snag the third year. _If she doesn’t stop I’m going to punch her. She doesn’t even like Makoto for being Makoto._

“Ow, ow! Oi Riii!” Sakura reached around and tapped Rika’s hand at her back. “Ease up on me.”

Rika removed her hand quickly. She hadn’t realized she’d been pressing down so hard on her friend. “Sorry.”

“…We’ll date for about five years or so and live together for two years,” babbled Mei. Rika closed her eyes and tried to take deep breaths to calm her grinding teeth. “Then he will make this beautiful proposal to me with the biggest diamond in Japan! You two will be bride’s maids of course. Ah it’s so perfect. So what do you think?”

Rika opened her eyes and stared blankly back at her. Sakura got to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. “I think you have too much time on your hands to plan all this out.”

“You should see the notebook I have on the wedding details,” Mei boasted.

_Why should Mei get Makoto? She doesn’t know how sweet he is, or how reassuring his smile is, or how protective of his friends he can be. She doesn’t even know him. Not like I do. How is it fair?_

“So Rika?” Sakura’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. “How about we come to lunch with you guys today?”

“Uh I don’t know.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Because.”

“Because why?”

“Because I don’t want you there! I don’t want you to eat with us!” All air left her body as the words left her mouth. That’s not what she meant. Why did she say that? Rika blinked rapidly as she looked between the two hurt expressions her friends had. “No…I…”

Sakura tugged on Mei’s sleeve. “C’mon Mei. She has a new group of friends. Now she has no need to be friends with us.”

“Get a move on second years,” called out their teacher. The class began to run their laps while Rika stared after the two girls. “Hama-chan wake up! Let’s go!”

Shaking her head, Rika ran after Sakura and Mei. That wasn’t what she wanted to say. Yes it was true she would rather keep the swim group to herself. It was true that she didn’t want Mei to get closer to Makoto. But she never meant to say she didn’t want her two best friends around. Weaving through her classmates she finally got to where the other two were running.

“Guys wait! Let me explain!”

“If you don’t want us around then we don’t want you around,” Sakura called over her shoulder.

Rika panted, feeling like her lungs were trying to climb up her throat. “Please! That’s not what I meant! Mei?”

Mei kept her gaze straight ahead of her. “Those words were hurtful Rika.”

With that the two pulled ahead and moved further into the group of second years. Rika cursed herself in her mind. What had she just done?


	9. Let only me comfort you

Rika could see herself at the top of that very steep and very dark hill. Sakura and Mei stood just behind her, their hands on either shoulder. _Because I don’t want you there! I don’t want you to eat with us!_ The words echoed around her getting louder with every beat of her heart. Finally her friends gave a shove and she was once again rolling down the hill into darkness and her poor choice of words. However, there was no Makoto to pull her back to safety.

Just as she began to feel the darkness creep into her mind a sharp pain ran down her arm. Looking to her side she found Haru watching her while his thumb and index finger pinched her skin. His bag was slung over a shoulder, gym clothes replaced his uniform, and his dark hair still held droplets of water. Was swim practice over already? Rika swatted his hand away and rubbed her arm.

“That hurts Nanase-senpai,” she said puffing out her cheeks.

Haru shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “You were spacing out. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she mumbled while still rubbing her arm. He raised a brow at her and tilted his head slightly. Rika sighed. “I got into a fight with my friends during gym. They’ve ignored me all day even though I tried to apologize.”

“What was the fight about?”

Rika nudged a fallen leaf with the toe of her shoe. “I said some stuff I shouldn’t have. I said I didn’t want them to sit with us at lunch. They think I replaced them with you guys.”

“How come you don’t want them to sit with us?”

She chewed on the inside of her cheek before answering. “One of them likes Makoto-senpai.”

Haru nodded and thought for a moment. “You don’t want them around because you like him right?”

Her eyes went wide as she looked over to the serene boy. “Eh?”

“You like Makoto right? So you don’t want that friend around because they are competition.” He shrugged. “I get it.”

Rika’s mouth opened and closed a few times like a fish. “How…when…w-why do you think I like Makoto-senpai?”

Haru gave her the _are you kidding me_ look before shaking his head. “I have been around you two goofs for a week now. It wasn’t hard to see.”

“Oh God…” She covered her face with her hands as heat crawled up her neck.

“He hasn’t noticed though. At least I don’t think he has. Have you Makoto?”

Rika gasped, her hands dropping from her face. Oh God was he there? How much of the conversation had he heard? What would he…wait….Rika turned and looked where Haru had directed his gaze. Makoto wasn’t there. Letting out a sigh of relief she turned back and set a glare on the boy. A small smile rested on his lips.

“That’s not funny Nanase-senpai!”

“Haru and it was a little funny.”

“What?”

“You can just call me Haru.” He reached out and patted her head lightly. “And don’t worry. I’m sure you can patch things up with your friends.”

“Uh…”

She had spilled everything to him and it took little effort. She wasn’t nervous telling him or in him discovering her feelings for his friend. There was no hesitation in telling him all of that and a great deal of comfort that washed over her in being told to call him by his first name and being told she could work things out. He was so calm and certain of things that it made it easy to talk to him, easy to stand in silence with him now, his hand still resting on her head.

“Hey guys.” The two of them turned to find Makoto walking towards them. “Sorry I kept you waiting. Rei needed to talk to me. We ready?” 

Haru’s hand fell away and he watched as Rika’s eyes lit up at the sight of his friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His hand was on her head. Why? What had they been talking about before he alerted them to his presence? _It’s nothing to worry over. I’m sure it’s nothing._ But Haru’s hand was resting on Rika’s head. The touch looked gentle and comforting. What was he comforting her about? Makoto told her if she needed anything, comforting included, she could go to him. So why had she gone to Haru instead?

Makoto felt his heart jump inside his chest. _Jealousy._ It was such a gross feeling that twisted his gut and made his head ache. There was no reason for it and yet there it was sprouting up inside him. If Haru and Rika liked each other that way then fine. He should support them like a good friend. But…he liked Rika too and he wanted to be the one to comfort her and pat her head when she needed it.

“How frustrating,” he mumbled with a sigh.

“Did you say something Makoto?” Haru said as he came to a stop along the sidewalk.

“No. It was nothing.”

“Well I forgot I needed to pick something up.” He motioned over his shoulder to one of the shops. “You two go ahead.”

“Are you sure?”

Haru gave a nod before glancing between the two of them. “Yeah.”

“Night then Haru.”

“Night Makoto. Night Rika-chan.”

“Rika,” she said before he turned to leave. “Just Rika is fine. Thanks for what you said earlier.”

Haru nodded. “No problem Rika.”

She gave him a warm smile. “Night Haru.”

He waved to the two of them before taking off. Makoto felt himself tense as Haru jogged off and Rika began to walk again. _Since when are they on first name basis without honorifics? Why is he just Haru and I’m still senpai?_

“Senpai?” He looked over to where she waited for him to catch up. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” he answered quickly and made his way towards her. As they fell into a comfortable pace, Makoto raced through his mind to guess at why she needed comfort. “How were your after school duties?”

She shrugged. “Fine. I just had to help print handouts, transfer some text books from storage, and clean some of the boards. I think the teachers are starting to get bored with me,” she chuckled.

“Ah. Well…what about family? Everything okay with your aunt and uncle?”

“Yeah,” she replied with a happy tone. Makoto’s heart swelled at the sound of her voice. “They’re fine. They are supposed to come up next Friday to talk with the principal.” She winced. “That might not go so well.”

Makoto tilted his head to the side. This was it. It had to be. “Oh? How come?” Rika hesitated for a long moment making Makoto worry that he shouldn’t have asked. “You don’t have to say anything. I didn’t mean to pry.”

She shook her head. “I don’t mind Makoto-senpai. Could we sit though?” She nodded towards the beach and led him over to the steps that lead down to the beach.

Makoto watched her carefully as she took a seat and took his own place next to her. He was careful to leave a comfortable distance between them. However, Rika stood for a moment to adjust her skirt and ended up closing the distance when she took a seat once more. Makoto sat quietly and waited for her to start.

“Sorry it’s taking me some time to talk,” she spoke softly.

His heart thumped in his throat. “Take your time. I’m right here.”

Rika took in a breath before turning to face him a little more. “After my parents passed my Auntie Lin and Uncle Hatori wanted me to move and live with them. But I didn’t want to leave the house or my friends. So they said that if I kept up my grades and didn’t get into fights I could stay and live on my own. They’re meeting with the principal on Friday and that fight I just got into with Natsume…”

He nodded. “I see. But that wouldn’t be enough to make you move right? They said grades _and_ fights. Your grades are fine aren’t they?”

“They could be better,” she admitted sheepishly.

“Well you could have Rei tutor you. Or Gou, I know she does really well too.” He shrugged, his shoulder slightly bumping hers. “I could even help out too if you wanted to come by my house someday. And I’m sure if your aunt and uncle knew you were putting in extra effort with the grades it could make the fight seem less important.”

She nodded and gave him an appreciative smile. “You’d help tutor me?”

A shiver crawled down his back. He wanted to reach out and take her hand or wrap his arms around her for sharing such a smile. He clasped his hands in his lap to keep from reaching for her. “Of course! I’m not far so you’re always welcome to come over. Or after school you can come over and do homework when I don’t have work.”

“I’m a pretty troublesome kouhai hu?” She laughed and nudged his shoulder with hers.

He let out a dramatic sigh and let his shoulders slump. “You have no idea. What am I going to do with such a kouhai?”

Rika puffed out her cheeks and pouted as he laughed. His laugh slowly came to a stop as a question popped into his head. Glancing over at her Makoto hesitated in asking. They were having a good conversation and he knew this question would probably ruin it but he wanted to ask.

“Hey Rika-chan?”

“Hmm?”

“Can…can I ask something?” She nodded and faced him fully, her knees knocking into his. “How did your parents pass away?”

The mood shifted as she looked away from him. Her posture dipped as she began to curl in on herself. Makoto felt bad for asking but he wanted to be closer to her and wanted to know all he could about her.

“I haven’t really talked about that with anyone,” she spoke quietly.

 _Good. Let only me in. Tell only me. Let me support you._ “If you don’t want…”

Rika shook her head and brought her eyes back to him. “It would be good to talk about it. It…it was weird. They both got really sick at the same time. My dad went into the hospital first and then mom within a few weeks. She passed away first and then he passed away a day later. It sucked.”

He watched her for a moment. Her lavender eyes stared up at him and glittered with the hint of tears. But none ever fell from her eyes. Slowly one of his hands untangled from the other and began to reach for her. His palm lay flat against one of her hands resting on the stairs. This thumb ran back and forth lightly as if to pass all his feelings into her with each stroke. Rika glanced down at his hand before looking back to him.

“Senpai.”

“Hmm?”

“I…I don’t want to have to move.” Her voice shook slightly as she spoke.

A warm smile lit up his features. “You won’t have to. I promise.”

“Onii-chan!” The two turned and saw two children running over to them. “Onii-chan!”

Makoto stood, leaving Rika’s hand cold, and opened his arms to the kids. “Ran. Ren. What are you two doing down here?”

“We went shopping with momma,” the little girl said before burying her face into Makoto.

“We bought cake,” said the boy joyfully as he tugged on Makoto’s arm.

“Oh did you?” Rika watched him smile affectionately at the two and allowed them to clamber all over him. Yet another admirable quality of his. “Where is mom?”

Just as he spoke a woman with long dark brown hair carrying shopping bags came towards them. “There you two are! Honestly don’t run off like that.”

“But we saw onii-chan,” the girl said looking back at their mother.

“Even so,” sighed their mother. However, with a shake of her head a sunshine smile lit up her features. So that’s where Makoto got it from. “How was school Mako?”

“Fine. Mom this is Hama Rika.” He gestured to where Rika was standing a little behind him. “She lives a couple houses down remember?”

The woman’s eyes lit up as she looked to Rika. “Oh yes! Hama-chan, my goodness. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Rika bowed. “Good evening Tachibana-san.”

“My you grew up pretty. Don’t you think Mako?” she asked as she nudged her eldest.

Pink flew across his cheeks. “Mom…”

“Onii-chan is blushing,” giggled the boy causing his sister to giggle as well.

Makoto huffed out a sigh. “Shouldn’t you get the groceries home before anything spoils?”

“Ah! Yes you’re right. Why don’t we all walk together?” Without waiting for a response his mother began to head for the stairs.

Makoto lifted his brother onto his back after being asked relentlessly for a piggyback ride. Rika watched him fondly as he interacted with his siblings. As they began to ascend the stairs she felt a tug on her sleeve. Looking down she found the little girl looking up at her with wide eyes.

“What’s your name?”

“Rika. What’s yours?”

“Ran.”

“Well that is a beautiful name.”

Ran smiled widely like her older brother. “Can I have a piggyback ride?”

“Oi Ran,” Makoto gently scolded over his shoulder.

Rika shook her head and adjusted her school bag. “I don’t mind. Climb up.”

She bent down so the girl could clamber onto her back. Rika carried the girl up the stairs behind Makoto and his little brother. As she walked, Ran played with strands of Rika’s hair and hummed a random tune in her ear. Rika smiled thinking she could get used to doing stuff like this. If it could be her and Makoto carrying the kids around like this it could help her forget the fight she was in with her friends, the worry of her aunt and uncle coming, and the worry of them making her move.


	10. What needs to be done

“Alright my little turtles,” their mother said as they came up to the house. “Inside with the groceries! Dad will be home soon and we need to start dinner.”

“Roger!” Ran and Ren disembarked their carriers and grabbed the bags from their mother.

Makoto dropped his school bag at his feet and stretched. “Ugh Ren is getting too big for piggyback rides.”

His mother chuckled and rubbed his back. “You just have to tell him no Mako. Don’t put strain on your back especially with that race coming up. Honestly, what would Haru-chan say?”

“He’d probably scold me.” Makoto rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. “But I can’t say no when Ren gives me those puppy eyes. He’s too good at that.”

Mother shook her head at her son, her large eyes full of paternal love. “Oh well.” She turned those eyes to Rika. “Now Rika-chan would you like to stay for dinner? I know we’ll make enough for an extra person.”

“Oh thank you for the invitation Tachibana-san,” she said with a bow. “But I think I will have to pass this time.”

“Oh?” Mother and son shared a look of disappointment. “You already have dinner plans?”

Rika shook her head. “It’s not that. I just have some other things I need to see to before this weekend starts up.”

The woman nodded and gave a warm smile. “Well another time then. Our door is always open anytime you need us.”

She gave another bow. “Thank you Tachibana-san. I’ll keep that in mind.”

The woman took Rika in her arms and gave her a quick hug. It took Rika by surprise but it was nice, warm, and very much needed. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had hugged her. Is this what Makoto’s hugs felt like? His mother pulled back with a smile on her lips and began to head into the house, patting her son on the arm as she passed him. Makoto watched Rika glow in the affection she had received. It was a very fitting look for her.

“Your family is lovely,” she said after his mother had disappeared into the house.

“Wait till my dad gets home,” Makoto laughed. “Then you’ll have the full set.” He paused for a long moment and chewed the inside of his cheek. “You…you could stay you know. It really wouldn’t be a problem. My parents would love to have you, the twins too…and me. If you want we could start working on homework or just play video games or…”

“Makoto-senpai,” came her breathy answer. “T-thank you very much but I really have some things to sort out with Sakura and Mei.”

His brow furrowed. “Did something happen? Are they okay?”

She nodded and waved it off. “We had a fight and I just want to get things sorted.”

“Is there anything I could do to help?”

“Haru gave me some advice and encouragement. I think it will be fine.”

 _Haru did…so that’s what they had been talking about._ “I see.”

Rika adjusted her bag on her shoulder and took a couple steps in the direction of her own home. “Well goodnight Makoto-senpai. Have a good weekend.”

He picked up his own bag and slung it over his shoulder. “Yeah you too.”

“And thanks,” she said catching him before he went inside. “Thank you for listening to me about my family and offering to help me.” A light blush crawled onto her skin. “I really appreciate it and knowing that you’re there for me. So thank you.”

“Of course Rika-chan.” He took a couple steps back to her. “Like I said, I’m right here.”

She wanted to hug him. If she could hug him and never let go, stay for dinner, meet his father, be close to him in any way it would be wonderful. Looking at Makoto it was like being shown another world where the light was brighter, everything was warm, and things could be perfect. However, she couldn’t let herself get sucked into the shimmering orbit and leave the tension with Sakura and Mei the way it was.

With that in mind she took a couple more steps back. “Well night.”

Makoto nodded. “Night.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rika flopped face down onto her bed. The hug his mother had given her was still warm on her body and collided with the want to hug Makoto. What would he have done if she had just run up and hugged him? Would he have hugged her back? Would he have held her securely as he had in her dream to keep her from tumbling down the hill?

Laying on her bed her mind created a scenario of her running up and throwing her arms around him. He would hesitantly wrap his arms around her and hold her close. His scent (a mixture of the pool and lavender she was sure) would flood her nose and fill her body. It would be warm and safe in his arms, she could stay in the embrace for days. Then he would pull back and look down at her with green eyes glittering with adoration. Slowly he would lean down and…. Letting out a growl of frustration Rika rolled around on her bed.

Finally sitting up she grabbed her phone and sat crisscross on her bed. “Focus! Fix this first and think about him later.”

Pulling up her contacts she flipped back and forth between Sakura and Mei. She had to think carefully about this so as to not dig a bigger hole for herself. The one she should apologize to first and explain things would have to be Sakura. That way she could explain to her the situation about her feelings for Makoto and how that was the stem of her outburst. From there Rika was sure they could figure out how to handle Mei.

“Alright!” Rika tapped her cheeks with her hands before typing out the message to Sakura.

_To Sakura:_

_I know you don’t want to hear from me but please let me get this out_

_I said what I did today because I have feelings for Makoto-senpai_

_Hearing Mei’s ‘Tachibana happily ever after’ thing really got to me and knowing that she only really likes him for limited reasons really bothered me_

_Because…I really like him and hearing her talk about him makes me…jealous and irritated _

Before Rika could type out anymore her phone began to ring. Sakura’s caller ID picture came up on the screen causing Rika’s heart to nervously thump in her ears. After a moment of hesitance she accepted the call and brought the phone up to her ear.

“Idiot,” came Sakura’s voice. “You, Hama Rika, are an idiot.”

“S-Sakura…”

It was silent for a minute on the other end. “Why didn’t you tell me you liked him?”

Rika shrugged to herself and answered in a small voice. “I don’t know.”

Sakura let out a loud sigh. “You know I could have helped with Mei had I known. I could have helped her dial back the Tachibana talk had I known.”

“Yeah.”

“What you said hurt Rika.” Rika bit her lower lip as her brows pulled together. The tone in Sakura’s voice tugged at her. “With all the time you’d been spending with the others I really thought that maybe you had…well it just seemed like you liked them more than us.”

Rika pressed on a bruise that was starting to yellow on her calf. “I know I hurt you and I’m really sorry. It wasn’t my intention. I didn’t handle things well.”

“You didn’t handle it at all,” corrected Sakura. “I’m glad you’re apologizing and I know the reason behind this but don’t get me wrong. I’m not forgiving you just yet.”

“I understand.” Rika’s heart lifted slightly knowing that things were somewhat getting worked out. “I wouldn’t want you to forgive me just like that. I need to work for it.”

“So how are you going to do that?”

Rika thought for a long moment. “Well how about you guys have lunch with us next week? You guys would get along with them too I’m sure.”

“Hmm,” Sakura hummed. “Yeah okay. You should get Tachibana-senpai to ask Mei personally though.” Rika remained silent for a long moment. “I know that’s not what you want but it would mean the world to her.”

“Mmm.”

Sakura sighed and said, “So you like Tachibana-senpai. Does he like you the same way?”

Rika snorted and felt a shiver squirm over her. _If only_. “I doubt it. I’m sure he only likes me as a friend.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Why would he want me Sakura?” Rika stood and walked over to the mirror in her room. “Have you seen me? I’m not a very pretty sight.” Rika looked over her face. A deep cut sat on her bottom lip, other scratches sat on her cheeks, forehead, and the bridge of her nose. Splotches of bruising covered her otherwise pale complexion. “No. He sees me as a friend to be protected and he is very caring towards friends.”

Sakura let out a little laugh. “He’s kind of like you in that way hu? Is that why you like him so much?”

“There’s a lot to like about him.”

“Well enough about your knight in swim trunks. Tell me about some of the others.”

Rika stayed on the phone with Sakura for half the night talking about the group.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_They were all smiling and laughing together. The whole family and Rika were sitting at the table eating dinner together. Makoto was sitting next to Rika, their knees touching under the table, and her laugh filling his head. Looking over at her he could see her glowing just as she had done after his mother had hugged her. Rika’s laughter stopped and she turned to look up at him. Those lavender eyes paralyzed him and set his blood on fire. Everything shifted and once more they were sitting on the stairs to the beach._

_“Thank you,” she spoke in a soft voice. “Thank you for being there for me.”_

_“Of course!” He reached out and took her hand in his. “Always Rika. I will always be right here. Let me support you.”_

_As he reached out his other hand to cup her face, the image of Rika blew away like sand in the wind. Makoto stood and frantically looked around for her. He ran down onto the beach, calling for her, eyes searching every inch. Then finally he spotted her standing by the edge of the waves. He ran towards her, hand extended out to her._

_“I need help,” he heard her say as he approached._

_“Rika I’m right here.”_

_“I need someone to listen. Someone to love me. Someone to rely on.”_

_“Me! Rika rely on me!” His fingers were inches from touching her shoulder. If he could just pull her into his arms then she would know everything was alright. “I’m here!”_

_“Rika.”_

_She turned her back to him to face a new figure on the beach. Makoto followed her gaze and found his best friend. Haru stood with his hand outstretched to her._

_“Haru,” she responded in a dreamy tone._

_Makoto watched as she ran towards him and took his hand. Haru pulled her close and placed a hand on her head as if to comfort her. Makoto’s heart wrenched inside his chest as he watched the two begin to walk down the beach in each other’s embrace. He tried to call out to her, tried to call them back, but his voice wouldn’t make a sound._

Makoto woke with a startle and out of breath. Staring up at his ceiling it took a little time to get the image of Haru and Rika walking away together out of his mind. With a groan he dug the heel of his palms into his eyes and rubbed out all traces of sleep. Lying in bed he listened to the noises beyond his door. He could hear his siblings running down the hall as their father announced breakfast. He could hear his mother humming in the other room as she put laundry away.

A knock came at his closed door. “Mako breakfast,” came his mother’s voice. “Better get down there before the twins eat all of it.”

He made no response, not feeling up to eating just yet, and instead remained in bed. As he lay there he thought over his dream. It had started out so well. Why did it have to end with Haru and Rika going off together? Would that actually happen? Would she ignore him and go with Haru? Then again he had told himself that if they truly did both share the same feelings he should be supportive. Still until he really knew they felt that way about each other it wouldn’t hurt to try and win Rika’s affection.

The sound of his phone going off made him jump and release a small squeak of surprise. Once his heart had slowed back to a normal beat he reached over into his school bag and pulled out his phone. His heart racked up to a nervous pace as he saw Rika’s name on the screen. He quickly opened his phone and looked at the message she had sent.

_From: Rika_

_Morning Makoto-senpai!_

_To: Rika_

_Morning Rika-chan :) Did you sleep okay?_

_From: Rika_

_Yes thanks. You?_

Makoto made a face and sunk into his covers.

_To: Rika_

_Kinda…what’s up?_

_From: Rika_

_Can I ask a favor?_

Makoto bolted up feeling more awake. It was ridiculous that he felt this excited reading and rereading her words. But she needed him for something and she went to him first. Or well he might assume she hadn’t talked to Haru. His fingers fumbled slightly as he typed a response causing him to delete and start over various times.

_To: Rika_

_Yeah! What do you need?_

_From: Rika_

_I was trying to see if my friends, Sakura and Mei ,could eat with us next week. Is that okay?_

_To: Rika_

_Yeah! :D The more the merrier right?_

_From: Rika_

_Great! Thanks. Uhm…would you mind texting Mei and inviting her?_

_To: Rika_

_Oh. Yeah sure, no problem. Can you give me her number?_

_From: Rika_

_Yeah of course. Thanks Makoto-senpai._

_To: Rika_

_No problem. Uhm so…you remember the swim race is coming up right?_

_From: Rika_

_Yeah. Still planning on coming!_

_To: Rika_

_Great! Well uhm so the school festival is right after that. Would…you want to go with me? The others will be there too of course but…_

Makoto held his breath as he waited for a reply. Haru had invited her to the swim race now it was his chance to invite her to the festival and have some time with her. Maybe during that time he could work his way into her heart the way she had worked into his. His eyes remained locked on his phone as he waited for a response. Finally his phone lit up with her response.

_From: Rika_

_Yeah sounds good_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rika fidgeted in her seat while Mei and Sakura sat across from her. The waiter set down the slice of cake they had all agreed to share along with three forks. Once he walked away Mei spoke.

“So you want us to have lunch with you and the others?”

Rika nodded. “Yeah.”

Mei nodded and poked the cake with her fork as Sakura began to dig into it. A smile burst onto her face. “Is that why Makoto-senpai texted me the other night?”

Sakura looked up to Rika who forced a smile. “I asked him to text you. I hope you don’t mind I gave him your number without asking.”

Mei shook her head and took a bite of the cake. “Not at all. It made me really happy actually.”

“Good. Look I really am sorry for what I said to the both of you.” She leaned back in her seat, her stomach churning. “I’ve been stressed and…”

“Your aunt and uncle are coming Friday right?” Sakura asked.

Rika nodded and cast her gaze downward. “Yeah. They have a meeting with the principal.”

Mei reached across the table suddenly and took one of Rika’s hands. “Don’t worry Ri. We won’t let them take you away. We’ll help to make sure you don’t move. Right Sakura?”

Sakura nodded and gave Rika a smile. Rika looked between her friends before letting her eyes rest on Mei. She was smiling so wide and brightly, she was cheerful, and being supportive. Even after what Rika had said one text from Makoto had patched things up so easily. Did he make her that happy?

“Thanks,” Rika said giving Mei’s hand a squeeze.

The tension between the three seemed to melt and their usual dynamic of teasing came back. The three of them stayed at the café for a while just talking and laughing. After spending some time together Mei took off first leaving Sakura and Rika together to walk around.

“You really made her day,” Sakura said after a silence. “I didn’t think you’d actually ask Tachibana-senpai to text her.”

“I had to.” Rika shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

Sakura watched her for a moment. “You have to tell her Ri. Mei needs to know that you like him too. It’s not fair if she doesn’t know that’s why you said that stuff.”

“Mmm.”

“Ri I’m serious.” Sakura held Rika by the arm making her stop and look at her. “You need to tell her and I’d tell him too.”

“Yeah. I will I just…I need a little more time to do it.”


	11. A time to decide

~~I really like you Makoto-senpai, more than Mei so please consider me~~

~~Since we were kids I thought you were~~

~~When we were kids I liked you and now I like you again~~

~~Date me~~

Rika dropped her head into her hands and sighed. Her eyes scanned over the words she had written down and sighed again. Was confessing to someone supposed to be this hard? As she read and reread the words the harder it seemed to actually say any of them out loud. Picking the paper up off her desk she crumpled it and tossed it into her school bag.

Placing her head on her desk she closed her eyes. Maybe it would be easier to tell Mei first and then maybe consider telling Makoto. Or maybe just avoiding telling either of them and seeing how it pans out. Maybe Mei’s feelings will disappear after meeting him. Could happen right? You idealize a person from afar and then get to know them and realize they are actually a horrible person. Except Makoto was an extraordinary person and there was no way Mei would ever think otherwise after meeting him.

Another sigh escaped Rika just before someone tapped gently on the top of her head. Lifting her head up she found Rei’s tall form standing next to her desk. “Hey.”

“Hello Rika,” he greeted with a smile. “Ready for lunch?”

Giving a nod she grabbed her bento and stood. “Where’s your other half?”

“Nagisa is going to get your friends, Tanaka-chan and Hiroshi-chan,” he stated as they headed out into the hallway. “I said we would meet up with them at the stairs.”

“Sounds good.”

Rei glanced over at her and watched for a moment as they began to walk. “Rika are you alright? You look a little pale.”

She scratched her head before looking to him. “Hey Rei…you’ve studied a lot of theories right?”

He proudly adjusted his glasses and smiled. “Of course! I know any and all theories there are to know.”

Rika nodded while her heart sped up. “W-well I was wondering…a-are there any theories about…oh say confessing to someone?”

“Hu?” Rei paused at the stairs, Nagisa not in sight yet, and looked at Rika directly. “Confessing to someone?”

“Well yeah,” she answered quickly and fidgeting in place. “I mean like y’know a…a…l-love confession or something of the sort.”

“Hmm.” Rei cradled his chin as he thought. “I don’t believe in lovey kind of stuff but it is interesting. Is there a theory for it? There must be.” He looked to her with a spark of excitement. “For example calculating if the weather will affect the one you are confessing to and their answer. Or if wearing nicer clothing and makeup will help the outcome.”

Rika let out a snort and laughed. “You’re strange Rei.”

“Geh…” His eyes went wide and a blush tinged his cheeks. “W-w-well you asked!”

“I know,” she laughed. “Thanks.”

As she continued to laugh Rei slowly joined in and chuckled. Maybe it wouldn’t be as hard as Rika was making it. All she had to do was tell him how she felt. It would be scary to do so but at the same time there was nothing to really worry about. Makoto was a nice person so he wouldn’t make fun of her for sharing her feelings and in the event of being rejected he would do it gently she was sure. But then that whole idea of being rejected was terrifying in itself seeing as how much her feelings were developing day by day. She could do it. After lunch, as they were walking back to their classes. She would ask him to stay behind for a second and then she could tell him.

“Rikaaaa!” Rei and Rika turned to look down the hall and spotted Nagisa. He waved and trotted towards them as Sakura and Mei trailed behind. “Yo you two! I got new friends and I’m starving! Let’s go!”

As Nagisa bounded up the stairs the other four took their time going up. Rei introduced himself, seeing as Nagisa had neglected to do so, and began to talk with Sakura. Mei and Rika followed behind the two as they started to talk about the track team and how Rei got pulled into swimming. Rika glanced to where Mei walked beside her and found her friend tugging at the sleeves of her shirt.

“Mei? What’s up? You seem…well freaked out.”

Looking up at Rika with wide eyes, Mei pulled on Rika’s arm so they slowed down even more. “Oh Rika you have to help me!”

“Hu?”

“I’m so nervous,” Mei confessed as she tightened her grip on Rika’s arm. “I don’t think I can actually do this.”

Rika tilted her head to the side. “ _You’re_ nervous? But this is what you’ve been waiting for.”

“I know! Ugh.” Mei shook her head before resting her forehead against Rika’s shoulder. “What if it doesn’t go well? I _really_ want Makoto-senpai to like me. I have no idea what to talk to him about or how to act around him. My heart hasn’t stopped racing since last night! I feel like I’m going to throw up. Oh God what if I throw up on him?”

 _What’s happening here? Mei has never acted like this before. Does she really like him that much? I’ve felt like that around him but…_ Rika sighed and patted the girl on the head. “Look Mei you won’t throw up on him. Take deep breaths.”

“What do I do Rika?” she whined.

“Hmmm well….” _I guess it would only be fair to give her some pointers. I still owe her for being mean anyway…_ “He likes first person shooter games. You’ve played those and there’s that new one that came out. Talk to him about that. He also likes cats so you can bring that up. And you can always talk to him about swimming. He also has a little brother and sister who he seems to be crazy about so…”

Mei lifted her head and gave a wide smile. She threw her arms around Rika’s neck and squeezed her. “Oh Ri! Thank you!”

“Hey you two,” called Sakura from the top of the stairs. “Hurry up!”

“Coming!” Mei hummed and skipped up the remaining stairs while Rika felt her heart lurch in her chest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coming out onto the roof they found the usual groups of students lounging. In the usual spot they saw Haru, Gou, and Makoto chatting together. The day had grown gray, the sunlight becoming a dull glow behind dark clouds.

“The clouds sure are starting to gather,” Gou said as they walked over. “Pretty soon we won’t be able to sit out here if the sun isn’t out.”

 _But the sun is out Gou. Can’t you see him sitting across from you?_ Rika’s eyes locked onto Makoto and his lively green eyes. There was her designated space between him and Haru where she sat. However, Rika walked over toward Haru and took the space between him and Gou. Sakura sat between Rei and Nagisa while Mei took the spot between Haru and Makoto.

“Uhm everyone this is Tanaka Mei and Hiroshi Sakura.” Rika pointed to the two as she spoke before pointing to the others. “You already met Nagisa and Rei. This is Matsuoka Gou, Nanase Haru, and Tachibana Makoto.”

“Glad you two could join us,” Gou said with a wide smile. “We really enjoyed getting to meet Rika and now we get two more friends.”

“Thanks for having us,” Sakura answered. “Gou you sit a couple seats ahead of me actually…”

As conversations picked up, Rika peeked around Haru to see Mei. She was slowly opening her bento, probably thinking over what to say, and finally turned her attention towards the tall boy of her dreams. While she watched them pick up a conversation she felt someone’s eyes boring into her. Looking up she found Haru’s ocean blue eyes looking down at her.

“What?”

“What are you doing?” he whispered back.

Rika straightened up and began to open her bento. “Nothing.”

He watched her as she began to shovel his portion of mackerel into his bento. “So…which friend likes Makoto?”

Just then Mei’s laugh reached Rika’s ears. Glancing over she saw a wide smile on Makoto’s lips and Mei holding her sides. What were they talking about that got that reaction? “I’ll give you a guess.”

Haru looked over to pair sitting next to him before turning back to Rika. “So…”

“She has every right to talk with him and get to know him like I did,” she explained quickly before shoving food into her mouth. “It’s also part of earning her forgiveness for the mean stuff I said.”

“You’re a good friend Rika,” Haru said as he studied her for a moment.

“Yeah…maybe.”

“Do you think Tanaka-chan could make Makoto happy?”

Rika paused in pushing food into her mouth. That was something she hadn’t considered before. Could Mei make him happy? Could Rika for that matter? What if she confessed to him after lunch and he returned her feelings…could she make him happy in a relationship? He could get tired of her, get bored with her bruised face, get annoyed with how often she got into fights, realize he didn’t really like her.

That’s right. Just because you like or love someone doesn’t mean they are obligated to feel the same or keep the same feelings after a period of time. Though with Mei maybe it would be possible. Rika looked over to Makoto and Mei once more to see them avidly talking with each other. They looked like they might have hit it off with each other and that Mei had nothing to worry about.

“Haru you’ve known Makoto-senpai forever.” He quirked a brow at her but didn’t interrupt. “What kind of person is he really? I mean like is he the type of friend that tells you to rely on him?”

Without a second of hesitation he nodded. “He told me something like that before we started high school. My parents are frequently gone for work and he told me if I needed anything to go to him.”

“He said the same thing to me the other day.” _I wonder if he already knew my parents were gone. That’s why he was trying so hard to get me to stay for dinner and meet his family. He was being a protective friend._

“What is it?”

She looked to find Haru watching her again. “Nothing.”

He narrowed his eyes at her but said nothing else. With a sigh Rika made her decision. She wasn’t going to tell Makoto or Mei.


	12. Troublesome kouhai

“What?!”

Rika put her hand over Sakura’s mouth. “Shh! Do you have to be so loud? We’re in the library.”

She peeked around the bookshelf they were supposed to be organizing. Luckily the teacher supervising them was busy scolding some other students. While Rika was distracted Sakura moved her head so she could clamp down on her friend’s hand. Rika pulled her hand away with a scowl.

“Ow!” She shook out her hand and gave Sakura a look. “You bit me?”

“Yes cause you’re an idiot. What do you mean you’re not going to tell Mei or Makoto-senpai?”

Rika rubbed her hand and kept her eyes cast away from her friend. “I just…feel that I don’t need to. Mei seemed to really hit it off with him and he seemed to like talking to her….”

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose. “He likes talking to you too dumbass. _You_ and Makoto-senpai hit it off really well. Have you seen the way he looks at you? I swear he glanced at you a million times during lunch.”

“Yeah but…” Moving away from Sakura, she went back to fixing a row of books. “You said he would want some athletic babe remember?”

“Yeah and I also said he wouldn’t want a girly girl like Mei. Remember?” Sakura stood beside Rika and began working on her section of the row.

“You don’t know what he wants in a significant other.”

Sakura tapped Rika on the head with a book. “Neither do you since you won’t talk to him about it.” She huffed out a sigh and shook her head. “Besides even if he does want an athlete, you’re more one than Mei.”

Rika paused and looked to Sakura. “How?”

“You fight. That requires muscle, skill, and stuff. What could be more athletic?”

“Being on a team and actually playing a sport,” Rika mumbled in response.

Sakura sighed and looked over at the other girl. “God you’re such a downer lately.”

The two worked silently side by side for the rest of the period.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh! Hama-chan!” Amakata ran towards the student who was carrying an armful of materials. “Are you terribly busy?”

Rika shifted the materials in her arms. “Not really. Honda sensei asked me to take these to his room and then he said I could go early.”

Amakata placed her hands together in front of her as if to pray and put on a smile. “Could I ask a favor before you go? I promise it will be quick! You can do it on your way out.”

“Yeah of course sensei.”

“Oh thank you!” The woman let out a long sigh of relief before giving a wide smile. “I have a meeting that I’m already late to but I need to pass on some information to the boys.”

Rika tilted her head. “The boys?”

“The swim team I mean. Could you stop by the pool and let them know the race this weekend was pushed back an hour?”

With a nod Rika watched as Amakata gave her thanks and took off down the hall. Go out to the pool? She was glad to give them the message but…the pool…. Continuing to walk to Honda’s class her heartrate picked up till it felt like her chest would burst. Well she didn’t have to get that close or anything. She could tell them the information from a distance. No big deal. After dropping off the materials and starting to head outside she kept repeating this to herself.

_No big deal. No big deal. You’ll be fine. You don’t have to get close to the pool._

As she got closer she could hear the sound of splashing and the different voices of the boys before it went silent. As she came into view of the pool all she could see was four pairs of legs sticking out of the water and Gou standing by the side watching. Rika walked over to where Gou stood, staying back a little closer to the fence, and watched silently with her for a moment.

“What are they doing?” she voiced after a silence.

“Hand stands,” Gou said without looking away from the pairs of legs.

Makoto’s legs shook from side to side as he tried to balance. Haru’s were straight up in the air unbent and unwavering. Nagisa brought his legs together and apart like a pair of scissors. Rei tried to do an elegant pose but began tipping to the side. The two girls tilted their heads as they watched.

“Why are they doing this?”

Gou shrugged. “No idea.” Finally Gou turned her attention to Rika with a smile. “Are you done early today Rika? I thought you usually have duties till we’re done with practice.”

Rika nodded and gave a smile back. “Yeah done early. Amakata sensei asked me to pass on a message about the race coming up. Said it was pushed back an hour.”

“Oh? Thanks for letting me know! I wonder if Rin knows about that. Oh well. I’ll get the guys, hold on.”

With that Gou placed herself on the very edge of the pool. Just seeing her on the edge and inches away from the water made Rika’s heart start pounding once more. Gou reached out and pushed on Makoto’s leg. The two girls watched as Makoto tipped to the side and started the domino effect on the others. As Rei splashed into the water Makoto and Haru came up for air.

“Aww Gou I almost had it,” Makoto sighed.

“What gives?” added Haru as she shook the hair from his eyes.

Gou rolled her eyes as she crouched down to meet them at the side of the pool. “Rika came to give us a message from Ama-chan. The race got pushed back an hour.”

Makoto looked past Gou as she and Haru began to talk and found Rika standing by the fence. His expression brightened as he caught sight of her, giving a wave of his hand and a smile. She gave a timid little wave back and a smile.

“Are you done for the day?” he called out as he crossed his arms on the concrete.

“Yeah,” she called back while fiddling with the hem of her skirt. “Can’t wait to be done with all this.”

He smiled. “Tomorrow is the last right?” Rika nodded and began to talk but it was drowned out by the sound of Nagisa terrorizing Rei. “I couldn’t hear you. Come over here.”

Makoto patted the concrete next to where he idled in the water. Rika’s eyes darted to where he suggested and lingered for a long moment. He watched her with curiosity as she hesitated, finally took a step forward, and then moved back against the fence. Rika shook her head and tangled her fingers into the holes of the fence. Makoto’s brows stitched together with concern as he lifted himself out of the pool.

Grabbing his towel and throwing it over his head he walked over to where she stood. “Rika-chan?”

“I…” She looked up at him shyly as he began to dry off his hair. “I’m afraid of pools. Or well any big body of water.”

Makoto paused and pulled the towel from his head. “What? Really?”

He watched as her fingers tightened around the fence before mumbling a response. “I can’t swim. I’ll sink like a rock and drown.”

“Oh.” He knew he shouldn’t be smiling, especially when she began to blush in embarrassment, but it made him happy. “Nothing wrong with that. I can teach you!”

Rika’s eyes widened a bit as the red ebbed from her cheeks. “Eh?”

“My job. I’m a coach at the swim club in town. I coach kids who are first time swimmers.” His smiled brightened as he talked. This was a fantastic idea! He was a genius. “After I finish teaching the kids I can teach you.”

Her lavender eyes stared at him with a mixture of emotions. “Eh…but…you already agreed to tutor me on your days off of work. I can’t ask you to do this too.”

“Sure you can,” he shrugged and ran a hand through his damp hair. “I’m your senpai and as such I need to look after my troublesome kouhai.”

Rika’s fingers untangled slowly from the fence as she relaxed. “Well yeah but…”

He lightly bonked her on the head with his fist. “No buts! This is what we’ll do. You can come to the swim club, have a lesson, we’ll go home, and I can help you with homework.”

The blush came back in full force at his plan, his fist still resting on the top of her head. “Senpai…”

Makoto looked down at her with a warm smile. His large eyes drooped slightly with his smile as he looked at her. Letting his fist flatten out his palm rested on her head for a moment before he let it trail down her dark hair. It came to a stop around her cheek when he moved his hand so he could lightly cup her cheek. He made sure to be careful as there was a fading cut just under her eye.

 _Amazing. I can feel the heat from her blush. Rika is so warm. Ah it makes my heart pound. Can she hear it?_ “It will be fine and hopefully it will be fun.”

“Yes.” She practically whispered her answer while never taking her eyes off his. “Please take care of me senpai.”

With a happy sigh he nodded. Could this moment stay forever? Him and Rika together, looking into each other’s eyes, the setting sun setting a blaze in his heart. But time was not meant to stand still, especially when things were right where you wanted them. The moment was broken as Nagisa bounded towards them.

“Rika-chaaaan!” The energetic blond bumped into Makoto before colliding with Rika. “Hey, hey Rika! I heard you’re coming to our race this weekend!”

Rika snorted and broke her enchantment to look at Nagisa. “Yup I sure am. I can’t wait to cheer you guys on.”

Nagisa’s eyes lit up and he encased her in a wet hug. “Yay! You can see us all swim together! We’re pretty amazing when we swim our relay. Isn’t that right Haru-chan?”

“Yeah we do pretty well,” he answered before sinking back into the water.

“Hey Rika we should go together!” Gou ran over next and took Rika’s hands. “We can meet the guys there. Oh and you can meet my onii-chan, Rin, and his friend Sousuke. Oh! Should we invite Sakura and Mei too?”

Makoto shook his head as Gou and Nagisa talked excitedly about the race.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The three of them waved to Nagisa, Gou, and Rei as they parted ways for the night. Makoto, Rika, and Haru took off on their normal path in silence. Rika held onto the straps of her bag tightly as they walked. The conversation she’s had with Gou kept playing in her head. Mei and Sakura had been sent a text inviting them to the race this weekend. Both of them had replied they would be there. Something Rika had hoped would be her time to spend with Makoto and the others had now turned into a time where she would have to watch Mei drool over Makoto.

Shaking her head she chided herself silently. She couldn’t be thinking of it like that. After all she had decided that Mei and Makoto deserved to be happy if that’s how things turned out. Mei should have chances to hang out with him. She needed to be a better friend and not let her selfishness get in the way.

“Ah Tachibana-kun!” A shop owner called out to him as they passed by and waved him over.

“I’ll be right back,” he said to Haru and Rika before trotting over to the owner.

“You’re very silent.” Haru looked over to Rika who simply shrugged. “Should I head on first?”

Her brow furrowed as she looked at him. “No. Why would you go on first? He won’t take that long.”

Haru was the one to shrug now before looking to where his friend stood talking. “Thought you might have something to say to Makoto.”

“What would I have to say to him that I couldn’t say in front of you?”

“Sakura told me after lunch. She said you were going to confess to him.” He shrugged again and brought his ocean blue eyes to her. “She said I should help out since I know about your feelings. So I thought you’d want to do it without an audience.”

Rika’s eye twitched as she curled her hands tighter around the straps of her bag. “Sakura…I’m going to kill her.”

“So…you’re not confessing?” Haru tilted his head to the side. “Cause if you’re waiting for him that might take a while. Makoto can be kind of slow when it comes to this stuff.”

Rika huffed out a long sigh. “I’m not confessing to him. I’m dutifully giving him up to Mei so they can pursue something further.”

Haru narrowed his eyes at her before flicking her forehead. “Dumbass.”

“Ouch.” She rubbed her head and gave him a sour look. “What the hell Haru? I’m doing what a good friend would do.”

“No you’re not. You’re doing what a dumbass would do.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “You’re putting your feelings in the trash so that Mei can have her way. Are you even thinking of Makoto? Do you know if he even likes her like that?”

“Look he agreed to give me swimming lessons and tutor me. I’ll take that time to pretend that it’s only him and me. That will be my time with him and that will be it. That will be all I need.”

Haru opened his eyes and stared at her for a long moment. “I’m going on first.”

“Geez! Haru!” She grabbed his arm and tried to keep him in place as he tried to walk away. “Please stop!”

“Sorry that took so long!” Makoto came back towards them carrying a package. “Nanami-san wanted me to give something to my mo…what are you two doing?”

Makoto’s smile faltered a bit as he looked at them. Rika was clinging to Haru’s arm and school blazer looking as if she was trying very hard to pull him to her. What had he missed? Haru rolled his eyes and sighed with a hint of annoyance. Had Makoto interrupted a moment or something?

“Are you done? Can we go?” Haru tugged out of Rika’s hold and headed for the stairs.

“O-oi!” Rika practically ran after him. “Wait for us Haru!”

Makoto sighed and followed. Was Rika that in need to be around Haru? Did she like him that much? He was trying to keep in mind that he needed to be a good friend and support them if they liked each other but it was getting kind of hard. It had hurt at lunch when she ignored sitting next to him and opted to only sit next to Haru. Couldn’t she at least sit between him and Haru?

“Later,” Haru called as he parted from them.

“Night,” Makoto called after him. Together he and Rika walked up the stairs silently. He paused in front of his house. “Night Rika-chan.”

“Night senpai.”

_Senpai. I’m not even Makoto-senpai anymore. What a troublesome kouhai._


	13. Can't you hear that heartbeat?

As soon as Rika was a good distance from Makoto’s house, her phone was out and her fingers rapidly typed out Sakura’s number. Her free hand clenched into a fist around the straps of her bag as the phone rang. Standing outside the front of her house she waited for Sakura to answer.

“What can I do for you grumpy guts?” came Sakura’s voice at last.

“How could you?” Rika stomped her foot down as she paced in front of the house. “What did you tell Haru exactly? When did you even talk to him today? I didn’t see it.”

Sakura sighed on the other end. “We were talking as we walked back to class after lunch. You were busy sulking over Mei and Makoto-senpai. I was trying to find something we had in common so I brought up you and he brought up Makoto-senpai and it came out. Imagine my surprise to hear he already knew how you felt about senpai.”

Rika closed her eyes tightly and shook her head with a groan. “I didn’t mean to tell him anything. It just kinda came out. Look please don’t encourage him to help anymore.”

“Eh?” She sounded way too excited. “What happened? Did Haru say something to senpai? Rika did something happen?”

“No,” she groaned. Dropping her bag, Rika sat on the front step and placed her forehead in her hand. "He wants me to confess to senpai and I…Haru was going to go on ahead so I could be alone with senpai.”

“And?”

“And nothing. I stopped him from leaving.”

Sakura let out a long sigh as if she had been holding her breath. “Rika.”

Rika closed her eyes and an image of Makoto’s face came front and center. “Senpai had a strange look on his face when he saw me and Haru. When he said good night to me he looked almost sad.”

“Sad hu? He probably thinks you’re dating Haru.”

Her eyes flew open and she picked up her head. “Why would he think that?”

“Well you two seem pretty close,” Sakura mused. “If you hadn’t told me you liked senpai I would have thought you and Haru were a thing.”

Rika snorted before picking up her bag and unlocking the door. “Don’t be stupid. Haru and I are nothing like that.”

“If you say so.”

“Anyway I told Haru that I was stepping aside so Mei and Makoto could be together.”

“What did he say?”

Rika closed the door behind her and dumped her school things in the living room. “He said I was being stupid.”

Sakura chuckled. “Same thing I said. I like Haru.”

“Yeah well I’m going to tell you what I told him,” Rika bit irritably as she made her way into the kitchen. “Makoto has agreed to tutor me and teach me how to swim so…”

“What?” A loud thump sounded on the other end. Had Sakura fallen out of her chair or something? “Wait, wait, wait! He’s going to teach you to swim? As in you’ll get to see him in only swim trunks? As in you’ll get to be with his toned torso one-on-one?”

“Yeah. Oh well I kinda already had that experience.” She scratched her head as she thought. “Though I was too distracted by my fear of big amounts of water to focus.”

“What? Rika! This counts as something happened! Tell me!”

Rika fiddled with things around the kitchen as she made dinner. She explained to Sakura about being asked to go to the pool and deliver the message, telling Makoto she was afraid of water, and him setting up the plans to do lessons and then tutoring. That was going to be her time with him and other than that she would step aside.

Sakura sighed loudly. “Ah. Well if you are so determined to do this then fine. I can’t stop you and neither can Haru. So all I can do is support I guess. Or meddle until you two get together.”

“I prefer the support option.”

“Yeah, yeah. So do you even own a swimsuit?”

“Uh…” Well that was something she hadn’t thought of. When was the last time she even attempted to go to the beach or anything like that?

“I’ll lend you one of mine tomorrow.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning was another quiet walk between the three. Makoto trudged along thinking over how to be a supportive friend while also considering trying to obtain Rika’s affection. Rika, herself, was thinking about stopping the lunch dates with the group to avoid jealousy and what Sakura had mentioned the night before. Haru meanwhile scanned over the text he had gotten from Sakura about keeping an eye on the two goofballs they called friends.

As they walked up towards the front of the school a pair of feet came running towards them. A smiling Mei came up to the trio with a wave and a skip to her step. However, that skip turned into stumbling feet and Mei at once began to fall to the ground. Before she fell too far Makoto was able to reach out and take hold of her.

“Careful Mei-chan. Wouldn’t want your uniform to get dirty before school starts.” Makoto gave her a sunshine smile while his hands remained curled around her waist.

“Th-thanks Makoto-senpai.” A rosy blush came to Mei’s cheeks as she held onto his arms for balance.

Rika’s eyes darted away from the pair before she began to take quick steps towards school. Haru watched her leave quietly. How frustrating. Rika liked Makoto and it seemed Makoto felt the same but neither of them were doing anything about it. If they just talked to each other and stated their true feelings this mess would be over. Instead it seemed like the game they were playing was a better choice. Idiots.

With a sigh he looked back to his friend. “She’s on her feet Makoto. You can let go.”

“Hu? Oh yeah I guess so.” Makoto released Mei with a chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck. After a moment he looked around before his eyes landed back on Haru. “Hu? Where did Rika-chan go?”

“She’s already inside,” mumbled Haru as he picked up his own pace and headed inside.

Makoto was about to follow when a hand tugged on his arm. “Mei-chan?”

Her blush deepened as she held onto his arm. “Sorry Makoto-senpai. My ankle hurts a little from that fall. Can I lean on you a bit?”

“Hu? Oh. Ah sure.”

As they walked slowly together, Mei leaned heavily on him. Makoto kept his eyes ahead of him wondering why Rika had just left. She hadn’t even said that she would see them later. She could have at least said she was heading in instead of just disappearing. Makoto sighed. So troublesome.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Makoto stretched as he walked down the hall during his free period. As he walked he caught snippets of a conversation of a couple of girls.

“She is such a menace.”

“Why hasn’t she been booted out yet?”

“Can’t believe she is fighting again.”

“So not cute.”

His heartrate picked up as one person came to mind. Quickly he made his way through the halls unsure of where he was going but certain that he needed to find her. Coming outside to the yard he followed the path they ran for gym until he heard the faint sounds of a struggle. Turning a corner he spotted Rika and another student throwing punches.

“Rika!” Rushing over he caught her under the arms and pulled her back. Once she was pulled away he wrapped his arms around her and restrained her. Makoto looked to the other student. “Sorry but you probably should leave.”

“Tachibana?” The student rubbed the dirt from their face. “What are you…”

“Go! Please.”

The student took off while Rika still struggled to get free and go after them. Makoto held tight as she tried to escape his grasp. He could see her knuckles were red, knees coated in dirt, and hair ruffled out of place. He tightened his arms around her, pulling her against his chest, and placing is lips at her ear.

“Don’t Rika,” he pleaded. She stilled and went quiet. “Please no more fights. You were doing so well. Remember what Rei and Nagisa said. Remember that I don’t want to see you all bruised. Please.”

The breaths she had been huffing out had slowed and evened out. “You…you didn’t say chan…”

“Hm?” He closed his eyes and rested his chin on her shoulder.

Her hands came up and gripped onto his arms around her. “You said Rika not Rika-chan.”

“Did I?”

“Twice.”

Makoto’s heart jumped. He was sure she could feel it with how firmly her back was pressed to his chest. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be so informal.”

Rika shook her head, her hair tickling his cheek. “You don’t have to apologize. It was…kinda nice.”

His lips tugged into a smile. “So…does that mean we don’t have to be formal with each other?” She hesitated but nodded. “Then you’ll call me Makoto. Will you?”

It stayed quiet for a long moment before she gave a hushed response. “Yes…Makoto.”

His hold on her relaxed, letting her turn to face him. Rika kept her eyes cast down as he inspected the damage. Letting out a sigh of relief that she wasn’t bleeding or more roughed up he took one of her hands.

“C’mon let’s get you cleaned up. You can tell me what this was all about.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rika stood by the water fountain while Makoto pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket. She watched silently as he dampened it with water.

 _His mom really does give him tons of those._ Rika had never given him back the one she had been given. She had told him it would be washed and returned but honestly she had forgotten to return it. Watching him now and seeing how her feelings had made an appearance she was glad she hadn’t returned it.

“So what was it this time?” His voice broke her out of her thoughts. Her eyes met his for a moment as he came over to where she stood. “You were doing so well with not fighting. Whatever this was must have been really substantial to have you go back to fighting.”

 _I was just angry about you and Mei_. Rika shrugged and dropped her gaze to the ground. “He’s one of Natsume’s friends.”

Makoto reached out and took one of her hands. He pressed the handkerchief to her red knuckles gently. “That’s it? Because he is a friend of Natsume you thought it was a good idea to beat the pulp out of him?”

“I didn’t beat the pulp out of him.” She paused for a moment before mumbling the next part. “You stopped me before I could do that.”

Makoto gave her a disappointed look before moving away to wet the handkerchief again. “You’re lucky I found you before it got bad. What if the principal caught you? Your aunt and uncle are coming Friday. Do you want them to hear about another fight?”

Rika glanced to him before shrinking back a bit. “I’ve never heard you use a lecture voice.”

“Eh?” He looked over his shoulder at her before letting out a sigh. “Yeah well…I’m kind of upset with you so you get the lecture.”

 _Upset? What does he mean upset?_ Her eyes snapped up to him, watching him as he began to clean off her face. _Makoto is not allowed to be upset._ “What did I do?”

“This morning you just left.” One hand cupped her chin while the other moved the damp cloth from cheek to cheek. “You could have at least said you were going inside. You didn’t even say good morning to Mei.”

“Why should I have to?” she grumbled in response.

“Because she is your friend.” Makoto went silent for a long moment as he finished cleaning her hands and face. “You say hello or goodbye to friends and you said neither to me today. We…we are friends. Aren’t we Rika?”

Her eyes widened in surprise. How could he ask that? “Of course we are. Don’t you think we are?”

Makoto dampened the cloth again before wringing it out. He stayed silent making Rika’s heart hammer inside her chest. Finally he answered, “Yeah of course I do.”

She released a breath she’d been holding. _Don’t scare me like that._ “Well good. I’ll try and remember to say goodbye next time.” Rika dusted off her skirt and smoothed her hair while turning away from him. “I should start heading back to class. Later.”

Makoto turned quickly as she began to head away. “Tomorrow.”

“What?” Rika turned back with a look of confusion.

“Come to my work tomorrow. We can start the swimming lessons and then you can come over and we’ll do homework.”

Swimming lessons and tutoring. God she wished she could refuse but this was the time she had agreed to call her own, the time to pretend it was just them. She couldn’t, _shouldn’t_ , give that up. Rika gave him a nod before starting on her way again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Well this was your last day.” The principal looked across the desk at where Rika stood. “So I shouldn’t see you or Natsume-kun in my office again. Correct?”

“Yes sir.”

“And your aunt and uncle will be notified about the fight and the punishment.”

“Yes sir.”

He looked her over quickly before nodding. “Alright Hama-chan. You can go.”

She gave a slight bow. “Thank you sir.”

Walking out she grabbed her bag, Sakura’s borrowed swimsuit tucked inside, and headed out of the school. Today was a walk home alone. Makoto had work and Haru’s parents had come home from one of their trips away. Walking home alone was both lonely and much needed. Rika needed time away from the object of her affections and the ever watchful dolphin pushing her towards him. She would be spending alone time with him tomorrow so it was good to have time away to prepare.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The swim club was easy enough to find and the staff was pleasant. A woman lead Rika to a place to change before going to notify Makoto that she was there. Once changed Rika made her way out, keeping close to the wall, and waited. Makoto saw his last student off before making his way over to her.

“Hey,” he greeted with a wide smile. “I’m Tachibana Makoto and I’ll be your swimming coach!”

Rika narrowed her eyes at him. This just wasn’t fair. She had missed really seeing his bare torso at the school pool but now she was staring at the uniform suit. It clung to every muscle, showing off his broad shoulders, and curving around strong legs. Was this some kind of punishment?

“Please take care of me coach.” She gave a low bow so she could drag her eyes away from him.

Makoto nodded. “Of course! Right then, let’s get started.”

“A-and how do we do that?” Her eyes darted to the pool just behind him. The water was calm and clear and deadly. It looked like glass, ready to trap her underneath with no escape.

“Well why don’t we start by moving away from the wall.”

Makoto held out a hand to her. Rika gulped a deep breath before reaching her hand out. His fingers curled tightly around her hand before he lightly pulled her away from the wall. Taking slow steps he moved her over to the side of the pool. Together they sat on the edge and put their feet into the water. The water was cool and slipped between her toes easily as she swished her feet around. This wasn’t too bad, this she could handle. Makoto watched her carefully as she kicked her legs out a little more and sent water splashing, her muscles relaxing, and her expression becoming more joyful. A smile came to his lips as he watched her relax, his hand still holding hers. He loved this about coaching. Seeing the kids get used to the water and enjoying it always lifted his heart. Seeing Rika show this similarity he couldn’t help but smile. It was cute how childlike she looked, how she was discovering the joy of swimming for the first time with him.

“You’re doing great Rika. You’ll be as natural as a fish in the water in no time.”

She blanched a bit and shook her head. “No way. I think I’m more like a duck.”

“A duck?” he chuckled.

“Yeah see they are goo with having just their feet in the water.” She kicked her feet around as if to make her point. “But the rest of them is above the water. I think I’m good with feet in the water and the rest of me above it. So…I’m a duck.”

Makoto laughed and shook his head. “Even ducks have to go below the water sometimes.”

Releasing her hand he pushed himself off the side and into the water. Rika held her breath for a moment as she watched him sink into the water. The water rippled around him but she could see that it came up a little past his waist. So if it came up to his waist for her it would come up to at least her ribs seeing as she was shorter than him. With that in mind she wanted to scoot back towards the wall and leave the water altogether.

“I…I don’t think…”

“Rika.” Makoto stretched his arms out towards her. “I’m right here. I won’t let you sink like a rock.”

She shook her head and gripped onto the side. “I…I c-can’t. Makoto I…”

He moved forward and placed his hands at her waist. His fingers pressed firmly around her waist. “I’m right here. I won’t let you sink. I won’t leave your side. Not ever.”

 _He’s not just talking about swimming is he?_ Something in the way he was looking at her, in the tone of his voice, sent a shiver down Rika’s back. Yet maybe…if he was there…she could get into the pool. It wasn’t like she had to do anything other than stand there. Slowly her hands left the side of the pool and reached for him.

Rika gripped onto his shoulders tightly. Makoto gave her a little smile before lifting her into the pool. The cool water wrapped around her, her feet flattened out on the smooth tile, and her grip on Makoto tightened. He readjusted his hands on her waist and started to move backward. Rika tried to remain planted but was pulled along as he took steps back. Makoto made sure to move slowly but kept her taking baby steps forward.

“Good. Don’t fight the water, something Haru always says. Cut a path through it. I’ve got you.”

Makoto walked her down to the other end of the pool before turning around and heading back to where they started. All the while Rika kept her breathing steady and feet shuffling forward. She had been so concentrated on his hands around her that she didn’t notice he had stopped in the middle of the pool. She bumped into his chest causing the water to ripple around them.

“You feeling comfortable?”

“A little I guess,” she said looking around at the rest of the pool.

“Would you want to try floating?”

Rika’s eyes widened at the suggestion. Looking around the pool and being in it made the realization that there was a lot more water to drown in come front and center. Floating meant putting herself into the water more, lying on her back, not being able to see what’s around her. Only being able to see the ceiling above was a little unnerving and being on her back meant good possibility of sinking. Yet she found herself nodding.

Makoto adjusted his hands so that her legs were swept up and his other hand rested in the middle of her back. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he cradled her in the water. He helped her straighten out her legs before slowly letting her lean back into the water. However, as Makoto began to disappear from sight and more of the water came around her body Rika could feel herself starting to lose control.

“No!” She bolted up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I can’t!”

“Okay, okay.” He quickly swooped her back up into his arms. One arm circled around her back while the other came under her legs. “I’m sorry Rika. I’ve got you. I’m sorry.”

Rika buried her face into the crook of his neck. “It’s not your fault. I just…”

“It’s okay.” He squeezed her closer. “I shouldn’t have rushed it. Being in the pool is enough of a start.”

Rika nodded and tightened her arms around his neck. As he held onto her she could feel a strong heart beating. The rhythm of the heart vibrated through her and calmed her nerves. Was it is heartbeat, hers, or a combination of both? Could he feel her heart drumming away inside her chest? Could he hear the sound of their pulses mixed together?

“Hey Makoto,” she voiced after a moment.

“Hm?”

“Can we stay like this for a little?”

“Yeah.”


	14. A mind made up

His heart was pounding way too hard and he was enjoying holding her like this too much. Having her arms around his neck, her head buried in his shoulder, and carrying her in the pool was enough to send his head swimming in happiness. Though of course it was her fear of the pool that had sent her into his arms and that shouldn’t be something to be that happy over. All the same Makoto was happy he was the one there with her.

“Rika,” he said quietly as he waded his way towards the side of the pool.

“Hm?” She shifted her head slightly so she could look at him.

 _Her face is so close. I could kiss her if I just…_ Her lavender eyes looked back at him waiting for him to speak. Now wouldn’t be the right time to kiss her. Not when she was still nervous.“Should we get out now? I think we’ve done enough today.”

She nodded and began to relax her hold around him. Makoto let her legs down gently and stayed close by her as they walked the rest of the way to the side. His fingers curled tightly around her waist as he helped to hoist her up and out of the pool. Rika sat on the side as he pushed himself out and removed his swim cap.

Rika rubbed her arms, holding them close to her body, and glanced to him. “Sorry Makoto. Guess that wasn’t really a lesson.”

Makoto shook his head as his brow furrowed. “You have nothing to apologize for Rika. Getting in the pool is a good start. We’ll take it slow.” She nodded. “Come on. Let’s shower and get home.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rika was glad to be standing under the water in the employee showers so she could hide her blushing face. Oh God she was so embarrassed. She had flipped at the thought of floating and snuggled into Makoto. He must have thought she was weird to be afraid of floating and must have been laughing to himself at how she had clung to him. But the way he held her in the pool, the way he calmed her, the way he remained close. She could have lived in that moment forever.

Shaking her head, Rika finished her shower and dressed. Coming out into the lobby she found Makoto waiting for her. Together they began to the walk to his house talking here and there about what homework there was and what she would need the most help with. Eventually the topic shifted to random chatter about videogames, movies, and shows they had seen. Rika watched Makoto talk, laugh, and look so serious about certain things trying to take in all of his expressions.

 _It feels like we’re an actual couple walking home together._ As that thought flew through her head one of her hands began to slowly reach towards him. Catching herself she pulled her hand back. What was she doing? She couldn’t just reach out and hold his hand. He’d probably be confused or just think it was a friendly gesture.

To keep herself from reaching out for him again she shoved her hands in her skirt pockets. Finally reaching the house she let herself relax a little. Makoto stepped in first and kicked off his shoes as he called into the house.

“We’re home!”

“Excuse the intrusion,” she mumbled as she kicked off her shoes.

“Makoto.” His mother came out of the living room with a welcoming smile. She walked up with open arms and squeezed her son tightly before releasing him and stepping back. “Whoo you smell like the pool.”

“Eh?” Makoto lifted the collar of his shirt to his nose. “We showered at work though.”

His mother shrugged. “Can’t be helped.” Finally her eyes landed on Rika. “Oh Rika-chan! Welcome. Come in, come in. You don’t have to stand in the doorway!”

Rika took a couple steps in and gave a shy smile. “Thank you Tachibana-san.”

The woman encased her in a warm hug. “You can call me Kame. No need to be too formal.”

Makoto chuckled behind his mother, covering his mouth with a hand. “I wouldn’t count on that happening right way mom. I just got her to start calling me by first name.”

His mother laughed as she pulled back from the hug. “Oh dear. Oh well never mind. Whatever you are comfortable with Rika-chan.”

Rika fiddled with a strand of her hair and cast her eyes to the floor. ‘Thank you.”

“Where are the twins?” Makoto looked around into the house. “Surprised they’re not rushing out.”

“They’re doing their homework in the living room. You two should get started on yours. Dinner isn’t quite ready yet.”

Makoto nodded. “Rika we can go up to my room and start.”

“Oh…uhm.” Rika followed Makoto as he began to head up the stairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Makoto peeked in his room to make sure it looked somewhat presentable before fully opening the door. He set his bag to the side and allowed her into the room. Rika looked around trying to take in everything while he pulled out some of his books and made a place on the floor for them to work. She had never seen a room that fit a person so well before. This room looked like an extension of Makoto with how comforting it felt and the things he had in it.

“Ready to start?”

Looking down she found him sitting on a pillow with his things laid out. Another large pillow sat next to his where she was supposed to sit. Rika nodded and took her seat. She pulled out her books and set them out just as he had. Glancing between their books she hesitated.

“You must have a lot of work to do.”

He shrugged. “It’s not too bad.”

Rika rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah but it will probably take you longer to do it now that you’re helping me with mine.”

Makoto gave her forehead a light flick as he frowned at her. “I offered to help you Rika. I wouldn’t have done that if I thought it was going to be a problem. So don’t make it sound like you’re being a burden.”

Rika dropped her gaze but couldn’t help the small smile on her lips. “You’re lecturing again.”

“Can’t be helped,” he sighed and patted her head lightly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had been working for half an hour before it was time for dinner. Coming down the stairs the twins greeted them with loud calls and tugging on their hands. In the dining room they found his father setting the table while his mother was finishing up in the kitchen. Makoto’s father was tall with darker hair and glasses. His features could be seen in each of his children as Rika looked between them. He gave them a wide smile as they walked in, eyes glimmering with warmth as he looked at his children.

He patted Makoto on the back as he took the twins, one under each arm. “How was work today Mako?”

“Fine thanks.” Makoto placed a hand on Rika’s back and pushed her forward a bit. “Dad this is Hama Rika. She lives a couple houses down.”

“Yes of course.” The man set down his youngest at the table before coming around to her. “Nice to meet you. I’m Tachibana Kou.”

Rika gave a little bow. “Nice to meet you Tachibana-san.”

He waved his hand and smiled kindly. “You can just call me Kou.”

Makoto chuckled by her side. Rika quickly shot him a glare and switched the topic. “Is there anything I can help with?”

“No, no.” He pulled out a chair at one end of the table. “Please have a seat.”

“You’re a guest,” called out Ren.

“Momma and Daddy said guests never have to work when they come over,” added Ran.

Rika smiled at them before looking back to their father. “Please let me help out. I feel bad to have everyone else doing things.”

His father placed a hand to his chin in thought. “Hmm. Well if you like you could help bring the dishes to the table.”

“Yes I can do that.”

Makoto watched as Rika went over and began taking dishes from his mother in the kitchen. As she set them at the table he began to serve. Once everything was at the table and they were all seated conversations began. The twins talked about a birthday party they were going to on the weekend, Kame mentioned a movie she wanted to see, and Kou asked the kids how school was.

A wide smile spread across Rika’s face as she watched them. It had been a while since she’d had a family dinner like this. It was fun to see how the parents interacted with their children and see Makoto in big brother mode. Though it wasn’t too different from how he acted with his friends. It was also nice to be included in the joking and conversation. Kou and Kame asked her plenty of questions and listened intently to her answers as she explained about classes or how she’d met the swimming group.

“Ah Rika-chan,” began Kou, “Makoto mentioned your aunt and uncle are coming into town on Friday.”

Rika nodded. “Yes.”

“Oh would they like to come for dinner?” Kame offered.

“Thank you for the invitation. I’m not sure if they can make it. They won’t be here too long.”

“How long will they be staying?”

“They leave early Saturday morning,” she answered as she began to help Kame pick up the plates and take them back to the kitchen. “Uncle Hatori has a big meeting next week. Otherwise they would probably stay longer.”

“Maybe next time then?”

Rika nodded and smiled but Makoto could see the tension in her. Her hands curled into the fabric of her skirt, the cuts on her knuckles becoming red, while her breath hitched slightly. The whole situation with her aunt and uncle coming, hearing about the fight, seeing how her grades were made her nervous. He could see that, he knew her that well now to pick up on those little hints.

“It’s getting late,” Makoto said getting up from the table. “We still have work to do.”

“Ah go ahead,” Kou said waving them off. Ran and Ren bolted up from the table and ran after them.

“Can we play Onii-chan?” Ran grabbed onto Makoto’s shirt and tugged.

Ren wrapped his arms around Rika’s waist. “Let us come play!”

Makoto sighed and detached his siblings from them. “We’re not playing guys. We’re doing homework.”

“Aww,” the whined in unison.

“But we want to play with Rika-onee-san.” Ran moved to Rika’s side and held onto her hand.

Ren came on the other side and took her other hand. “Yeah! Why does Onii-chan get Rika-onee-san to himself?”

Makoto reached out and took hold of Rika’s arm. He pulled her to his side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Because Rika is mine.”

Her eyes went wide, heart stopping all together, and stomach flying. She could feel his fingers tightening around her shoulder and the warmth coming from his side. A wide smile spread across her face at his words. How could she not be filled with love for him when he said things like that? Shaking her head Rika looked down at the twins who were complaining to their brother.

“How about I come over some weekend and the three of us can play?”

Their eyes lit up and smiles spread wide across their faces. “Really?”

Rika nodded. “Really. If that would be okay with you two.”

“Yeah,” they agreed.

“Ran. Ren,” called their father. “Come back here you little turtles!”

With one last promise that the three of them would play some weekend the two ran off. Rika watched them take off before looking up to Makoto. His arm was still curled around her shoulders and his hand resting on her shoulder. His eyes had followed his siblings with a fondness in his voice.

“They are something, those two. Thanks Rika for putting up with them.” He turned his gaze to her and seemed to realize how close they had gotten. “Oh…”

Rika could see a blush resting against his cheeks while his eyes looked like they glittered with a mix of shock and something else. Whatever was in his eyes, how he was holding her, his words had sent her heart over and above. Rika loved Makoto and there was nothing to stop it. The feeling could only grow stronger she was sure. Looking up at him she knew she had to tell him.

“Sorry.” Makoto removed his arm and scratched the back of his neck.

Rika bit her lower lip and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. We should go finish our work.”

“Y-yeah. Good idea.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Her mind was made up to tell Mei first how Rika felt about Makoto. If she told Mei first then confessing to Makoto would be easier. Mei would know how Rika really felt and would hopefully feel less hurt than if Rika told Makoto first and they ended up together. It was wishful thinking that she and Makoto would share the same feelings and wind up dating but…she could always hope.

Her mind was made up sure but actually finding a right time to tell Mei was the problem.

______________________________________

“Hello?” Her voice crackled through the phone.

“Oh Rika,” came her aunt’s voice. “I always seem to catch you when you’re sleeping.”

With a hum of agreement, Rika tried to sit up and wake herself a little more. “What’s going on Auntie Lin?”

“Well it seems we won’t be able to come in this week.”

Her eyes shot open and her heart jumped. “What? Why not?”

Her aunt sighed on the other end of the line. “Well Uncle’s meeting got moved up and he needs to be here to prepare things. So we will reschedule for the week after. I’ll let the school know.”

 _Thank all the gods!_ “Oh that’s too bad. I was looking forward to seeing you guys.”

“We were too. But hopefully things will work out with this meeting and we will be able to come next week.”

“Sure. Tell Uncle Hatori good luck with the meeting.”

With that she said her good byes and hung up. While her heart still leapt for joy she quickly typed out a message to Makoto. With them not coming this week she would have an extra week to study as hard as she could to bring up her grades, though it was still too little too late. If she could pass her next couple tests it would show them she was on a better path.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the week flew by with Rika still not telling either Makoto or Mei. In her mind she justified it by telling herself to get through studies this week and worry about it over the weekend. Besides the swim competition and school festival were on Friday and she wanted to enjoy both to the fullest. Seeing the guys in their competition and spending time with them at the school festival would be a kind of reward for her getting through her tests and studies. Not to mention putting up with Mei’s constant chatter and puppy dog eyes around Makoto.

Friday was no exception. All of them had to move inside from the roof, the sky packed with dark grey clouds and a chilling wind, and ate lunch in Makoto and Haru’s classroom. They had pulled desks together and taken their usual spots, Rika resuming hers between Haru and Makoto.

“I can’t wait to see you guys swim,” began Sakura from where she sat between Rei and Nagisa. “I’ve never seen a competition like this before. How does it work exactly?”

Nagisa began to imitate how he swam. “You guys will get to see all our different styles individually and then all together in the relay!”

Gou held her head up proudly. “And we’ve been practicing super hard so there is no way we won’t win something!”

“Ah!” Mei clapped her hands to her cheeks and smiled. “I’m so excited! I bet you’ll do amazing Makoto-senpai! I can’t wait to see your backstroke.”

Makoto chuckled. “Well it’s not just me swimming.”

“That’s right Mei,” Rika said as she finished giving Haru his portion of Mackerel. “We should cheer for all of them. They’ll all do great not just Makoto.”

Mei’s dreamy expression dropped while Sakura’s head snapped over towards Rika. Mei sat up a little more in her seat. “M-Makoto…when did you drop the formality?”

Rika shrugged and avoided Mei’s eyes. “The other day I guess.”

“I see.”

Sakura and Haru exchanged pleased looks before continuing on with lunch. Throughout the remainder of it Mei and Rika stayed mostly quiet while the others talked around them.


	15. Swim competition and school festival

“Wow.”

Sakura, Mei, and Rika stood in the entrance to the swim competition. Just the lobby was overwhelmingly large, groups of teams flowing through, while shouts of encouragement echoed off the walls. The three girls stood with wide eyes and gapping mouths.

“Rika! Sakura! Mei!” Gou came running over towards them waving and smiling. “Hey guys! Glad you made it. Sorry we couldn’t all come together after school. The teams had to get here early.”

“No worries,” Sakura waved it off. “Glad we came too. This place looks amazing. Now I’m really excited to see the guys swim.”

Gou smiled brightly and nodded. “It should be a really good one! Especially cause onii-chan’s team is swimming today too. Come on let’s go get seats. “

Sakura linked her arm with Rika as they walked and pulled her close so they could whisper. Mei and Gou walked ahead chatting loudly about getting to see all the toned shirtless guys walking around.

“So you and Makoto-senpai are on just first name basis now hu?”

Rika felt her skin heat. “Y-yeah.”

“You two seem to be hanging out together after school a lot.”

She shrugged. “That’s just cause he is teaching me to swim and tutoring me.”

Sakura pinched Rika’s arm hard. “You’re not telling me everything. Come on! Spill.”

A smile spread across her face as she recalled everything that had happened recently. She told Sakura about their first swimming lesson, going over to his house, meeting his family, and how Makoto had called her his. The blush and smile on her face deepened as Sakura gave her an excited look.

“I’m planning on telling him and Mei soon.”

“Good! Oh Rika.” Sakura hugged Rika’s arm and rested her head on her shoulder. “I’m so happy for you.”

Rika leaned her head against Sakura’s. “Thanks.”

The two untangled from each other as they walked up the stands and found seats. The teams were starting to take their places on the side and on the blocks. Rika’s eyes scanned the teams until she spotted the Iwatobi boys. The four of them were gathered in a circle, Makoto giving his captain’s speech while trying to keep Haru from jumping into the pool just yet. She smiled as she watched the four of them. She was happy and lucky to have become friends with them, especially with Makoto and Haru. Having been somewhat close to them when they were kids and being closer to them now made her happy. She was happy they had reconnected and gotten to know each other. She was happy that Haru wasn’t as scary as she thought he was. He was sarcastic and could be a bit cold at times but behind that was true kindness and love.

And then there was Makoto. He was her savior when they were younger and now he was a dear friend. He was the brightness and sunshine, her strength, and her best supporter. Because of him she was fighting less, the cuts and bruises fading from her body, she was striving to do better and try harder. He had caught her at the top of the hill and held onto her to keep her from rolling forward.

“Makoto-senpai!” Mei’s voice broke Rika out of her thoughts. “Good luck!”

Makoto turned and waved at all of them. His eyes turned to Rika and an amiable gleam lit his gaze as a fond smile spread across his lips. Her stomach tightened as her heart thumped, thinking that look and that smile was only for her. Rika gave her own smile and small wave before putting up a fist to say ‘fight on’.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Makoto could feel his face and neck heating up. With one last smile he tore his gaze from her and turned back towards the pool. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to cool his rampaging heart. She was here, she was cheering him on, she was wishing him luck. He had to do well, he had to win his race and the relay. They had practiced very hard for this competition but that wasn’t what would get him through it. He would get through it because she was here supporting him and believing in him.

“You seem more clam than usual.” Haru’s quiet voice caught Makoto’s attention. “Is it because Rika is here?”

Makoto looked over to his friend and felt a nervousness bloom in his stomach up through his chest. “M-maybe. I’m glad she came…that all of them came. Their our new friends and I’m glad to share this with them.”

“But mostly Rika.” Haru watched Makoto closely. “I’m glad she is here too.”

He began to wring his hands till his fingers turned red. “H-Haru…do…do you like Rika?”

Haru was silent for a long moment making Makoto wring his hands even more. “Yeah. I do like her.”

“Eh.” Makoto’s heart dropped into his feet. It felt like all the energy was draining out of his body.

“But not in the same way you like her,” Haru added quietly.

“Eh?” Makoto’s eye widened while his mouth dropped open in surprise. “Haru…”

“Freestyle swimmers please take the block,” came the announcer’s voice.

Before Makoto could say anything or ask anything Haru walked away and took his place to start the competition.

The competition went by in a flash. As soon as one of them was in the pool another was on the block ready for their own part. Rika was amazed how each of them swam, cutting through the water like it was the easiest thing to do. Watching them all trying so hard and work together in the relay made her want to take more lessons with Makoto and really work on her own skills. If she could ever swim like they did she would be the happiest.

Once the competition was over they all made their way back to school for the festival. As a large group they walked around from booth to booth, exploring the different things the classes had put together. Between the laughing, chatting, and stuffing their faces with food, Makoto tried to talk to Haru without the others over hearing.

“What did you mean?”

“Hm?” Haru mumbled around his mouthful of food. “When?”

Makoto hung his head slightly as he continued. “At the competition. You said you liked Rika…b-but not the same way I do. What did you mean?”

Haru paused in shoving his next bite into his mouth. With a long sigh he stopped and looked at his friend. Makoto looked back at him with his wide drooping eyes. It amazed him how often his friend looked like a giant puppy.

“Makoto, I like Rika as a friend, as someone I’ve gotten to know. You like her as more than that. Don’t you?” He watched as without hesitation Makoto nodded and flushed slightly. “Then you should show it. Let her know.”

“Let her…but…you and Rika…” He paused and pushed a hand through her hair. “You think I should tell her?”

Haru nodded. “Tell her tonight if you can.”

His heart felt as light as air. So Haru didn’t like Rika in the way he thought. He was being encouraged to tell Rika, to see if there was a chance that she might feel the same. If he told her tonight about how he felt, see if she felt the same, they could start something together.

A rush of determination rushed through him. He nodded and let a smile flow across his lips. “Alright! I’ll do it! Thank you Haru.”

With a rare small smile, Haru gave Makoto a nod.

“Hey! We haven’t done this yet!” Nagisa pointed to class 2-A’s event for the festival.

Makoto felt his heart stop. Before them stood a sign painted in all black with red lettering. _House of the Dead_ was written out in chilling script. A black curtain hung over the doors, a student dressed as a reaper stood guard, and an occasional shriek could be heard from inside.

“Nagisa are you insane?” he bellowed.

Nagisa blinked innocently and tilted his head. “What do you mean Mako-chan?”

“It’s just a little haunted house,” Sakura said peeking into the black curtain. The reaper standing guard slapped her hand away causing her to stick out her tongue. “Nothing to be afraid of.”

Makoto let out a small whine. “But…”

“Oh this looks fun!” Mei clapped her hands excitedly. “Why don’t we go? I’ve always heard this class does a wonderful job.”

“Yeah let’s go in!” Gou slapped the reaper on the back with a smile. “It should be fun.”

“No way.” Makoto crossed his arms and shook his head. “I’m not going.”

“Aww!” Nagisa rested his forehead against Makoto’s shoulder. “Come on Mako-chan! It won’t be _that_ bad. Please!”

Rei placed a hand on Makoto’s other shoulder. “Makoto-senpai doesn’t like scary things. You know that Nagisa. He’s a bit of a coward when it comes to ghosts, ghouls, strange noises, spiders…”

“Thanks Rei,” he sighed while hanging his head.

As they began to argue if they should go or not, Haru moved to Sakura’s side and whispered an idea. Sakura nodded her head and began to put the idea into motion. Haru moved over to Rika’s side while Sakura went to Makoto’s.

“Go with Makoto,” Haru whispered. “It will give you time to be close to him.”

“Eh?” Rika looked at Haru with a furrowed brow. However, before she could ask any other questions Sakura caught her attention.

“I know we’ll go in groups!”

“Oh I’ll go with Gou!” Nagisa ran to her side and locked arms with her before pulling her through the curtain.

“Haru,” began Makoto.

The other boy shook his head. “You’ll just end up strangling me and shaking my brains loose. I’ll go with Rei.”

Before Makoto could make any other protest Haru and Rei went through the curtain. As Mei began to gravitate towards Makoto, Sakura grabbed her hand and dragged her into the haunted house. Rika and Makoto were left standing outside with the reaper. Now Rika understood what Haru had meant. She didn’t have a problem with it but it was also a little embarrassing. Looking over she could see him practically sweating. It was cute that he was so scared of something like this and if she could give him strength to get through it then she would do her best.

“Makoto.” Rika held out her hand and smiled. “You can hold onto me if you need to.”

With a small smile and content sigh he reached out and took her hand. She gave his hand a little squeeze for reassurance before starting to lead him towards the curtain. The reaper lifted the curtain for them and encased them in darkness. Makoto’s grip tightened on her hand as they began to walk forward. Small little areas of light helped lead the way through plastic skulls, cobwebs, and skeletons.

The occasional scream could be heard ahead of them causing Makoto to let out little whines. A figure passed in front of them making Makoto stop dead in his tracks. Rika tugged him along, trying to walk carefully past, but was caught off guard when the figure jumped out at them. She flinched while he screamed and hid behind her.

Makoto gripped her shoulders and buried his face in the crook of her neck. “Sorry Rika,” he mumbled.

“It’s fine.” She reached up and placed her hands over his. “Let’s keep going?”

He nodded and the two of them began to shuffle through.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Throughout the haunted house Makoto buried his face deeper into her neck and threaded his fingers with hers. Together they walked through getting scared and jumped at every now and again by students dressed as ghosts and things of nightmares. At the end of the maze the only thing that was left were a few plastic decorations which had gotten the better of Rika. She took off running through the rest of the haunted house with Makoto in tow.

They made it all the way out to the courtyard before Rika stopped and they could catch their breath. The two of them huffed, bent over, and still clutching to each other. Finally Makoto began to laugh and clutched his stomach.

“What?” Rika felt a smile tugging at her lips as she watched him. “What’s so funny?”

“You!” He straightened up and began to wipe tears away from his eyes as he continued to laugh. “I’ve never seen anyone run away so fast from plastic bats and a picture of a vampire!”

The smile slipped into a pout as she watched him crack up. “Oi. It’s not that funny! You screamed too!”

“I know!” His laughing began to calm as he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry Rika. I didn’t mean to laugh so much. It was just nice to see someone get as scared as I do.”

With a roll of her eyes the smile came back to her lips. “It’s fine. Laugh all you want.”

With a final sigh he wiped away the last of the tears that had built up. “I don’t know about you but I’m beat now.”

“It’s been a long day,” she agreed. “Especially for you with the competition.”

He nodded. “Think I’ll head home. Would…you want to walk with me?”

Rika gave her own nod. The two of them pulled out their phones and sent messages to the others to let them know they would be heading home first.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As they walked home Rika clenched and unclenched the hand Makoto had been holding when they first had gone into the haunted house. Once again his hand had been so warm and comforting. She had loved holding his hand and wanted more than anything to hold it again. She wanted to walk down the street holding his hand, seeing those sunbeam smiles at all times of the day, to see him laugh to hard he cries and clutches his stomach. She wished those moments would never end but time never stood still when you wanted it to.

Soon she found herself standing outside her front door with Makoto, their walk and time together at an end. Rika hesitated in front of the door not wanting to leave him yet. Turning towards him she fiddled with the hem of her skirt.

“Well it’s the weekend now.”

“Mmhm,” she answered.

“Any plans this weekend?”

She shrugged. “Not really I guess. More studying and maybe we could have another swim lesson?”

“Yeah! That would be great. I’m really happy you feel like having another lesson.” Makoto rubbed the back of his neck while his eyes looked everywhere but at her. “Listen Rika…I’m really glad you came today. Thanks for cheering for me and everything. And thanks for spending time with me at the festival…”

As he spoke Rika could only concentrate on how hard her heart was beating. Everything seemed to go out the window as her actions took over before she could think it out. Rika found herself moving forward and grabbed the collar of his shirt. She stood on her tiptoes as she pulled him down slightly and pressed her lips to his. A little squeak of shock escaped him but was muffled against her lips.

His lips were soft and seemed to fit against hers perfectly. The comfort and warmth that always radiated off of him passed through his lips and filled her from head to toe. Rika broke away for a moment and readjusted her hold on him before pressing another kiss to his lips. This time he let out a small hum and held her by the shoulders while she placed her hands at the base of his neck.

They broke away from each other slowly. Rika opened her eyes to find Makoto standing with his eyes still shut. She smiled as she came down from her tiptoes. “Goodnight Makoto.”

His eyes opened and he gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Goodnight…Rika.”

With that she opened the front door, gave him a parting wave, and shut the door behind her. She waited a couple of minutes, listening to his footsteps fall away, before letting out little noises of sheer excitement and joy.


	16. These words finally said

Rika remained leaning against the front door for a while as she replayed what had just happened. The way he had been holding onto her at the festival, how he had laughed, the sound of his voice as they said goodbye had pushed her over the edge. Rika was now falling down a different hill, a hill she wouldn’t mind getting bruises and scars from, and Makoto would be at the bottom of it to catch her.

She had kissed him and he hadn’t pushed her away. His hands had gripped her shoulders, he kissed back, and he had looked happy. He had looked happy and all she did was say goodnight. Why hadn’t she just told him how she felt? Granted the kiss should have been a hint but it wasn’t her stating straight out that she loved him. Would calling him and telling him to come back to the house be stupid? Or she could go to his house. Or they could go for a walk and she could spill it all then. Either way she wanted to see Makoto and talk with him again.

Quickly pulling out her phone, a goofy grin on her lips, she began to pull up a text message to him. However, she paused and the smile faded. No she couldn’t tell him just yet. Mei had to be told first and she knew that. With a long sigh she closed the message to Makoto and pulled up her messages with Mei.

_To: Mei_

_Can you meet me down at the beach tomorrow morning? I need to talk to you about something._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rika parted from him, her hands slowly leaving cool trails around his neck. Makoto kept his eyes shut for a moment longer to savor the feel of her being so close. His racing heartbeat filled every part of him and drowned everything else out until her voice rang out.

“Goodnight Makoto.”

Opening his eyes he found her smiling up at him. He was going to pass out and keel over if she kept smiling at him like that. It was like the smile he had seen when he caught her staring at him from the classroom. It was full of her gentleness and caring, so innocent and devious at the same time. Makoto gave her shoulders a light squeeze to make sure she was standing in front of him and it wasn’t all a dream.

“Goodnight…Rika,” he finally answered.

He watched quietly as she gave a little wave, turned to open her door, and then closed it behind her. Standing there for a moment in shock, Makoto could feel his skin heating up. She’d kissed him and he had kissed her back right? He hadn’t had a clumsy moment and tripped forward right? No. No Rika had tugged him down and kissed him.

Turning on his heel a smile slowly crawled across his face. Walking home the smile only spread, a calm wave of happiness and warmth rushing through him. Coming into his room he flopped on his bed and buried his endlessly smiling face in his pillow. Makoto flipped onto his back and let out a long content sigh until his phone buzzed causing him to jump.

_From: Rika_

_Meet me at the beach tomorrow afternoon?_

_To: Rika_

_Of course! Anything wrong?_

_From: Rika_

_No. Just want to see you._

_To: Rika_

_See you tomorrow then :)_

Another content sigh escaped him as he closed his eyes and held his phone to his chest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mei watched as Rika rocked back and forth on her heels. The two girls stood on the sand with the crashing waves just next to them. The air still held a crisp coolness to it as the sun tried to shine through the grey clouds that had gathered.

“Spit it out Ri,” she said starting to feel impatient. “I’m starting to freeze and I’m hungry. Can we go get food and talk?”

“No. I’ll tell you now…” Rika sucked in a deep breath and stopped rocking. “Mei…I kissed Makoto last night. I love him and I want to confess to him. Today in fact. I was going to meet him here and tell him.”

Rika watched her friend closely. Mei stood in front of her with a blank expression. All she did was blink a couple of times before she spoke. “Y-you kissed him. You k-kissed Makoto-senpai.”

“Yes.” She wrung her hands nervously. “You know we walked home together after the festival. Well I just kind of kissed him.”

“You love him.”

“Yes a lot.” Rika dropped her gaze from Mei’s blank expression. “I have for a while now. I liked him when we were kids but nothing came of it really. It just kinda popped back up recently and becoming friends with him again and all…”

“If you get to kiss him then so do I,” Mei suddenly blurted. Rika’s eyes snapped up to her and grew wide. “It’s only fair Rika. You want to take senpai from me.”

Rika narrowed her eyes at Mei. Her hands stilled and instead tightened them into fists. “ _Take_ him from you?”

Mei huffed out a breath. “Senpai was mine first. This whole you love him thing…you never said a word before. So yes senpai is mine because I expressed my feelings and you knew.”

“We’re not in middle school anymore Mei. Makoto is not a toy that can be passed around.”

“I’m not treating him like a toy!”

“Yes you are! Saying that I’m taking him from you or that he was yours first…just because I didn’t openly say—“

“I love senpai Rika!”

“Uhm…”

The two girls turned to find the topic of conversation standing not too far off. Makoto stood with pink in his cheeks, rubbing the back of his neck, and smiling. Rika’s heart all but stopped at the sight of him. What was he doing there now? She told him to come in the afternoon so that she could clear things with Mei first.

“Senpai,” Mei said practically breathless.

“Hey Mei,” he said with a wave and smile that made his eyes crinkle. “Rika.” She remained silent and just watched him. “Mei would you talk with me a moment?”

Mei quickly glanced between him and Rika. “Me?”

Makoto nodded and held out a hand to her. “Yes please. If you have the time?”

She nodded and took his hand. “Yes of course!”

Rika’s eyes locked on their hands grasped in each other’s. She felt her heart jump and slide into her throat. Looking up she found Makoto watching her closely.

“Rika could you wait here? I’ll be right back.”

She gave a nod and watched the two of them walk down the beach a little ways. Feeling her heart starting to sink she walked over and took a seat along the wall. She was worried. There could be a possibility that Makoto could choose Mei over her or not have feelings for either of them at all. Just because they loved him didn’t mean he was obligated to love them back. But things would be difficult now between her and Mei either way. If she had said something much earlier this could have gone differently.

Rika stretched out on the wall, her back against the cool stone, and closed her eyes. If there was a chance that Makoto did pick Rika she doubted Mei would ever forgive her or even want to. She couldn’t blame her though but then at the same time it still made her mad. Mei was acting as if Makoto could easily be captured by her and that was end game because she had feelings for him. Mei had said that she had expressed her feelings for Makoto which was true. She had told Sakura and Rika many times over how she felt about the third year but she had never told Makoto straight out. So to say she had Makoto first because of that made no sense. So Rika should have Makoto first considering they had been friends before and she had feelings for him before Mei even knew him.

 _That’s stupid and childish. You’re no better than Mei._ Rika sighed loudly and covered her face with her hands. “Ugh I hate this!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What are you doing?”

At the sound of his voice she removed her hands and opened her eyes. Makoto watched her with a small smile. How long had it been since he walked away with Mei? What had they talked about? Was it the reason he was smiling?

“Makoto. Where’s Mei?”

A little sad look came over his features briefly. “She went home. She wasn’t too pleased but I hope she understands. I think she just needs a little time to think.”

Rika sat up and faced him. “What do you mean? What did you say to her?” _Did she kiss you?_

Makoto reached out and placed a hand to her mouth. “Wait. Let me get this out before I get too nervous.”

Rika nodded and took note that his hand was shaking slightly as he removed it. Together they sat on the wall, their feet digging into the sand, waves beating down on the shore. Makoto spoke calmly in contrast to his shaking hands.

“You do make me nervous Rika but calm at the same time.” He chuckled and shook his head. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense. But you make me happy, sad, angry, and excited all at once. When I see you smile it feels like my heart is going to beat so fast I’ll lift into space. When I see all your bruises and cuts from fighting I want to protect you with every amount of energy I have. But I know you can take care of yourself.”

He reached out and took one of her hands in his. Rika held her breath as he continued.

“Though the bruises and cuts are fading, and I’m glad they are, please let me protect you sometimes. If I could be by your side and help you learn to swim, or figure out homework, or whatever it is I’d be happy. So what I’m trying to tell you right now is I…”

“I love you.” Before he could finish and she could stop herself the words came flying out.

Makoto chuckled and squeezed her hand. “Yes. That’s what I’m trying to say. I love you Rika.”

She squeezed his hand back and took a deep breath. “S-so…you and Mei…”

“I’d like to be her friend.” She nodded and smiled widely. “Rika could I…c-could I assume that you feel the same about me? Or is there anything… _anyone_ else you—“

“No!” She turned towards him straight on and scooped up his other hand in hers. “No there isn’t anything or anyone else. I…I love you too Makoto.”

His eyes lit up as he let out a small gasp. “Rika!”

Makoto pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. It took a moment to register what had just happened. He confessed! He said he loved her and she had said it back. The words had finally been spoken, the words she had been holding onto for so long, and now she was in his arms. Makoto was holding her so tightly yet so carefully. Finally her arms came around him and hugged him back. They stayed like that for a long moment before Makoto held her at arm’s length. They gave each other a smile before he placed a hand to her cheek and moved forward. His lips pressed to hers, fitting as perfectly as they had the night before.

Makoto scooted closer and placed his other hand at her shoulder. Rika in turn placed her arms around his neck. Breaking away the two of them rested their foreheads against each other’s and smiled.

 


	17. Being in love

The dark clouds burst and a downpour of rain hit the beach. Makoto and Rika ran up the stairs hand in hand as the rain drenched them head to toe. Makoto led the way to his house and quickly got the door open. The two of them huffed as they kicked off their shoes, water dripping all over the entrance, and their skin prickling with the warmth of the house.

“Where is everyone?” Rika looked around a bit surprised there was no welcome for them.

Makoto opened a closet nearby and pulled out a couple of towels. “Mom took the twins to a birthday party and dad is out with some friends from work I think.”

“Oh.” _It’s just us then._ The tips of her ears began to heat.

“Rika.” Makoto held his arms open with the towel. “Come here.”

With a little hesitation she moved further into the house towards him. Makoto encased her in the towel and began to rub her dry. She watched with an amused smile as he took his task very seriously. After making sure her body was mostly dry he moved the towel to her head and began to dry her hair. Rika began to giggle and tried to cover her smile with her hand. Makoto paused upon hearing her laugh.

He bent down slightly to catch her eyes. “What?”

She shook her head still smiling. “Have you always been the motherly type?”

“Uh…” His shoulders hunched and he removed the towel from her head. Handing it to her he said, “Sorry. It’s a habit. I do it with the twins and even the guys.”

“It’s fine Makoto.” She reached out and took his hand, giving him a big smile for reassurance.

He smiled back before giving her hand a squeeze. “Rika you’re still frozen. You should use the bath and warm up. We can put your clothes in the dryer.”

“Oh…” Before she could really protest Makoto was dragging her up the stairs. “That’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

“You’ll get sick if you stay in those wet clothes.” He stopped at the bathroom and began to get the bath ready. Rika stood to the side and watched him move about. “I’ll get you some of my clothes. You can wear them till your clothes dry.”

He was talking so fast and moving so quickly. Rika’s heart leapt in her chest as she watched him. He must be racing around because he’s nervous. They had raced to the house for shelter without much of a second thought. Makoto hadn’t planned on them being alone in the house and Rika hadn’t planned on it either. It was sweet to see him in a panic, knowing he had no clue what he should do, yet still trying to act normally.

Her ears felt even hotter as the warmth spread across her cheeks and down her neck. “Makoto…”

“Uhm towels are here,” he said quickly gesturing around. “There is soap, shampoo, and stuff. Y-you can leave your clothes right outside the door and I’ll leave the new clothes there.”

Rika nodded as she tried to hide her blushing face. “O-okay.”

Makoto hesitated for a long moment as the water began to fill the tub. He fiddled with his hands before shoving them into the pockets of his jeans. Quickly he padded his way to the door. Before he could leave, Rika grabbed the damp sleeve of his shirt. He paused and glanced over his shoulder at her.

“Rika?”

“Thank you Makoto.”

With a small smile and a nod he left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sitting in the steam and warmth Rika could feel the cold seeping out of her body and another type of chill setting in. Was all this okay? She was in love with someone her friend was in love with and currently sitting in his house taking a bath. Was she allowed to be happy and content while Mei probably felt like her heart was shattering? Sinking down into the water, Rika blew bubbles, thinking everything over.

_Am I a good friend? Will Mei ever talk to me again? Is Makoto picking the right person to love? He said he loved me and wants to be friends with Mei but…can I make him happy that way? He and Mei were getting along really well._

Letting out a sigh in a flurry of bubbles, Rika closed her eyes and shook her head. The water sloshed around her as she tried to clear her head. Makoto said he loved her, kissed her, and dragged her to his house out of the pouring rain. She should be ecstatic that the person she liked shared her feelings and liked her back. Yes it was at the cost of a dear friend maybe never talking to her again but…she should be able to enjoy it. Just for a night.

With a determined nod she got out of the bath and let the water drain. Opening the door just enough to peek out she found a set of clothes neatly folded. Rika brought them into the bathroom and refilled the tub with fresh hot water. Quickly she put on the clothing he had left for her, a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, and toweled her hair dry. Turning off the water she stepped out into the hall.

“Makoto?” she called out after some hesitation.

His head poked out from his bedroom door, a pair of thick black framed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose. “Ah Rika. Are you finished?”

 _Does he have to look good in everything?!_ She nodded and brought her gaze down. “Yes. “

Makoto came out into the hall and padded over to her. “Alright I’ll use it quick. You can wait in my room. If you want to play videogames you can or just watch TV or whatever. I won’t take long.”

She gave another little nod and began to shuffle towards his room. As she did she could hear a light chuckle behind her. Quickly she turned to see Makoto, eyes crinkled in the corners, trying to hide his mouth with his hand. Her eyes widened as she grabbed the hem of his shirt, which was more like a dress on her.

“W-w-what?”

With his other hand he waved and calmed his chuckling. “No. Nothing.” Makoto rubbed the back of his head as his eye sparkled with amusement. “You just look so cute in my clothes. They’re so baggy on you…it looks like when Ran dressed up in my father’s clothes.”

Rika’s shoulders hunched as she tried to shrink into some kind of shell. Quickly she turned away from him and shuffled faster down the hall. Once in his room she shut the door and took a seat with her back against his bed. He said she looked cute in his clothes and then compared her to his sister playing dress up. Great. Leaning back against his bed she brought her knees up to her chest, burring her face into the collar of the shirt. Taking a deep breath she caught Makoto’s scent that reminded her of cinnamon and sugar. With a smile she sighed happily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Makoto came into the room, towel slung around his neck, to find Rika playing a game on her phone. As he made his way over to sit by her she put the game down. Rika maneuvered so she sat in front of him, their knees knocking into each other. Makoto watched as she grabbed the towel from around his neck and began to rub his hair dry.

He chuckled. “What are you doing?”

“Repaying you,” she replied.

Makoto hummed and closed his eyes as she rubbed the towel over his head. “Thanks.”

The two of them stayed quiet for a long moment as Rika worked. Her hands began to slow until they finally came to a stop and she moved the towel to see his face. “Makoto…”

“Hm?” When she hesitated he opened his eyes and looked to her. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

She nodded slowly before bringing her gaze back to him. “Yeah. I just…it feels like this is all a dream. I feel like any second I’ll wake up and find out you and Mei are together.”

“Me and Mei…” He quirked his head to the side as his brows furrowed.

Rika shrugged. “I know you said you loved me. I just…” She paused and then smiled with a shake of her head. “Never mind. I’m happy right now and also a little worried I guess.”

Makoto removed the towel from his head and set it to the side. “Worried? Why are you worried?”

With a shrug she looked away and dug her hands into her lap. “It feels too good to be true. To have you love me back…”

“Rika.” Reaching out he cupped her face with both hands making her look at him. “I understand. I feel the same. I uh…I actually thought you might be in love with Haru.”

“Haru? Why?”

“You made him food and it seemed you two really got along well. I figured…he’s rather serious and you’re a little more laidback. Seemed like a good fit I guess, that whole thing of opposites attract.”

“Haru has just been a friend,” she promised as his hands dropped from her face.

“And so has Mei. She’s just been a friend to me.” He shrugged. “Guess we both were wrong.”

Rika nodded and felt a little relief come over her. “Guess so.”

“Hey Rika…I told you back on the beach how I felt about you. How do you feel about me?”

“Eh? Oh well…that is—“ She paused for a moment she knew how she felt it was just putting it into words that was something to think about. “You make me feel safe, especially when we were in the pool. You drive me crazy with how kind and gentle you can be and then go into lecture mode and scold me. I like hearing you say my name and seeing that sunbeam smile of yours.”

He shot her one of those sunbeam smiles and reached out for her hands. “I’m glad to hear that. I think we could be really happy together if you would like.”

Rika gave his hands a squeeze and nodded. Together sitting in his room they began to talk about random little things. Eventually they had ended up on his bed, one curled around the other, slowly drifting off to sleep. As Makoto gave into the weariness a swell of comfort washed through him feeling Rika in his arms, having her back pressed to his chest, feelings her steady breaths as she slept, and knowing why she loved him. So this is what it felt like to be in love. 


	18. Our heartbeats

Rika woke slightly as the sound of thunder crashed outside. Momentarily forgetting where she was the heat at her back was a little overwhelming. Thinking she was back in her room drowning under the covers she kicked out to try and push them off. Instead she kicked a pair of strong legs that had tangled with hers. The owner of the legs moaned and tightened the arms that were wrapped around her.

Fully waking she recognized the cool and quiet room and where the heat was coming from. With a little trouble she turned and faced him. Makoto was sound asleep, mouth open, and snoring lightly. She let out a quiet laugh as she looked at him before reaching out and letting her fingers roam through his hair. Makoto shifted, leaning into her touch, and let out little sleep groans. The rain outside pattered against the window as occasional flashes of lightening blared through and a bang of thunder rumbled.

“Makoto,” she whispered as her hand rested on his cheek. He groaned in response. “Makoto.”

“Mm. It’s the weekend.” Makoto mumbled and buried his head deeper into his pillow. “Let me nap mom.”

With a little hesitation Rika moved closer to him. She chewed on her lower lip for a moment before settling on her decision. Lifting her head a little she closed the distance and lightly touched her lips to his. This was the second time she had kissed him and let her lips linger against his. She felt him hum against her lips and pulled back. Makoto’s eyes fluttered open and rested on her.

“Hm. Rika?” His brows twitched for a moment in confusion before remembering. He sighed and smiled. “Oh. You’re still here.”

“It’s not like I could really leave.” She tried to pull one of her legs out from under his and tapped on one of the arms that was wrapped around her.

Makoto glanced down at their entwined limbs. Rika expected him to bashfully apologize, blush, and try to move away. She was prepared to smile, tell him it was fine, and that she didn’t mind it (and she didn’t). However, she felt his legs only close more around hers while his hands slid up and down her back before pushing her closer to him. As he pulled her to him, he nuzzled their noses together and placed a couple of kisses to her forehead.

“M-Makoto…”

“What?” He chuckled as she tried to hide her face. “Eh…Rika? Why are you hiding?”

“C-cause,” she stumbled refusing to meet his gaze. “You…you’re embarrassing.”

Makoto dipped his head down to try and catch her eyes. “I am? You’re the one who kissed me in my sleep.”

As best she could, Rika brought her hands up and covered her face. Makoto laughed and tucked her hair behind her ear. She was so cute when she was embarrassed. To see such a side of her, especially when she had a hard reputation of fighting and being scary, made him happy. He hugged her to him as his phone began to ring. Reaching over her, he grabbed the phone and pressed it to his ear but didn’t release her from his arms.

“Hey mom. Yeah I’m home with Rika. We’re just hanging out. Yeah I’ll ask.” He brought the phone away from his ear and stroked her hair, coaxing her away from her shield. “Mom wants to know if you’ll stay for dinner.”

Rika gave a little nod. “Okay.”

He smiled and brought the phone back. “She said yes. Okay see you guys in a bit. Be safe in the rain.” With that he hung up the phone and set it back down. “We’ve been asleep for a couple hours. Maybe we should get up and make some tea or something. I can check on your clothes, they might be done by now.”

She nodded and watched as he sat up and stretched. Makoto placed his back against the wall and threw his arms above his head. With a yawn he stretched out his muscles while she remained curled up trying to preserve the warmth he had provided. Makoto brought his keens up and stretched out his back as he leaned forward. Slowly Rika pushed herself up and moved over towards him. She pushed her way between his legs and sat in front of him, his knees on either side of her and her back against his chest. Makoto watched curiously as she took his arms and placed them around her.

“Cold,” she mumbled as one of her hands began to stroke his arm.

Makoto laughed and rested his chin on her left shoulder. “You’re like a cat Rika.”

“Good.”

He smiled and closed his eyes for a moment. “Hey you know what I discovered before I went to sleep? When I was holding you, like I am now, and warming you like this, it’s like our heartbeats are overlapping.”

He spoke slowly, his voice low and still mixed with sleep. Rika took in every breath, every word, and could feel his heart beating against her back in time with hers. He was right. It was as if they were overlapping and molding into one heart, one beat.

“See.” Makoto continued after a moment. “Can you feel it? I’m holding you like this now and warming you. I’m warming your whole heart right now. Can you hear it? Thump. Thump. The sound of the rain and thunder outside is like our heartbeats mixed together. I’m starting not to know whose sound it which.” He chuckled lightly in her ear. “I feel so comfortable I could go back to sleep.”

“Oi.” She pinched the arm she had been rubbing. “You said we should get up. Especially if your mother and the twins are coming back. They don’t need to see me in your clothes like this.”

Rika made to get up from the bed but Makoto would not release her. Instead he held her tighter and moved from her left side to her right. His lips were right at her ear, his breath tickling the hair around her face.

“Listen. Thump, thump.” He took a deep breath in and released it before taking another. Rika felt herself rise and fall with his chest. Makoto moved his lips to her left ear. “Thump, thump.” Two deep breaths. “Thump, thump.” Two deep breaths. “Thump, thump.”

He took another two deep breaths before resting his chin once more on her shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is all just fluff. I wanted a cute cuddly moment with these two and here it is. Pure fluff. Hope it was good fluff!


	19. No longer a fighter

Rika sneezed causing the small cat at her feet to jump. “Ah sorry Yuki. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

She coughed as Yuki cuddled into her hand. Rika smiled as she coughed and felt a shiver run down her back. It seemed like each day was getting colder and no matter how many layers she wore the wind still cut through her. She wished Makoto and Haru would hurry up and get to their meeting place already so they could start the trek to school. Another sneeze and coughing fit later she finally heard the two coming down the steps.

“Morning Rika!” Makoto waved as he trotted down the stairs towards her. “Sorry we’re a little late. _Someone_ had to take a half an hour bath.”

Haru rolled his eyes as he finished buttoning up his jacket. “Complain, complain. Honestly Rika I don’t know what you see in him.”

“Haru!” Makoto feigned an offended look but there was a small hint of hurt in his tone. “You…”

Rika gave a little laugh which gave into another coughing fit. Once she stopped she smiled and looked to the taller boy. “You mean you can’t see the personification of the sun standing right there?”

Haru scanned Makoto before looking back to her. “Is that where the sun has gone? If you stare at him like that you’ll go blind Rika.”

She laughed as they headed down the stairs. “Blind with love you mean?”

Makoto chuckled before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to his side. “So cute.”

“Ugh,” Haru groaned as he tried to speed up and walk ahead of them. “Why did I get stuck with the couple?”

Rika caught up to him and wrapped her arms around him, making him stop for a moment. “Because you helped us realize how we felt for each other. Thank you Haru.”

He shifted his gaze away and shrugged with her arms still around him. “Yeah…well…I’m glad you guys are happy.”

Releasing him they continued their walk towards school talking lightly. Rika let out her death rattle of a cough in between conversations catching Makoto’s attention and concern. Taking her hand in his he leaned down towards her.

“Oi Rika you don’t sound too good.” His brows pulled together as his eyes looked her over. “You look really pale too. I thought you looked pale Saturday when you left after dinner but…”

She shrugged. “It’s just a cold from getting soaked in the rain the other day. Nothing I can’t handle.”  

“Are you sure?”

“Yes Makoto. Don’t worry.”

With a sigh he stopped and unwrapped the scarf around his neck to bundled it around her instead. He watched as she snuggled into the scarf, covering her mouth and nose, and shook his head. Taking her hand in his again they caught up to Haru who had kept walking through the school gates. Walking hand in hand through the gates her heart began to pound relentlessly for two reasons.

The first was that Makoto was holding her hand. It was real. He was holding her hand and walking into school like it was the most natural thing ever. His palm was so warm against her clammy hand, their fingers laced, and being pulled so close to him. They were dating and completely mad for each other. Never would she have imagined when she glanced him out the window that day would she end up like this with him.

The second reason her heart was pounding was she would eventually run into Mei. Rika was prepared for Mei not to speak to her, for Mei to hate her for a time, for mean things that might escape Mei’s lips. However, she wasn’t ready to face Mei while holding hands with Makoto or having Makoto near at all. As she was considering all this, the warmth that had surrounded her hand disappeared as Makoto let go and made his way to his shoe locker.

“Hey, hey!” Sakura bounced up to Rika as she changed her shoes. “So Haru just texted me that you and Makoto-senpai are together!”

“Eh? When did he…” Rika peered around the bank of lockers to where Makoto and Haru stood talking as they changed. She narrowed her eyes at the blue eyed boy before looking back to her friend. “Man. I wanted to tell you myself in person. Stupid Haru…”

Sakura laughed before throwing her arms around Rika. “Congrats! I’m so happy for you Ri. See it all worked out in the end!”

Rika smiled and nodded before frowning and shaking her head. “Well not quite. Have you heard from Mei?”

  
“Mei?” Sakura thought for a moment. “No. Come to think of it I haven’t seen her this morning.”

“Oh?” Rika rubbed the back of her neck and closed her locker. “Well…we kind of fought over Makoto on Saturday. And then he showed up and—“

Rika shrugged helplessly. Sakura nodded and quickly typed out a message on her phone. “Well I asked if she is okay or needs to talk. I feel kind of neglected here.”

“Neglected?” Rika tilted her head.

“Yeah. Neither of you told me anything. I’m finding out all of this now.” Sakura tucked her phone away and crossed her arms over her chest. “I mean Mei always tells me when she is down and you’ve always told me good news first usually.”

“Oh Sakura I’m sorry.” Rika hung her head feeling ashamed. “Man I really haven’t been a good friend lately.”

Sakura gave her a light punch to the shoulder. “Stop it. You just found someone who loves you as much as you love them. You should be happy! Not this sulking mess.” She gestured to Rika’s hunched form.

Rika picked up her head and gave a small smile. Though it felt good to hear those words she still felt a heaviness settle into her heart. Was it really okay to be happy when one friend was heartbroken and the other felt neglected? “Thanks Sakura.”

The two hugged just as Makoto turned the corner and joined them. Sakura released Rika and turned her attention to the third year. Giving him a stern look she said, “Now look here mister. Rika is a precious friend and a good person. If you ever make her cry or do anything to hurt her I will personally come after you with my brother’s kendo sword.”

Makoto’s eyes widened slightly as he gave a shaky laugh. He moved so that he was slightly hidden behind Rika. “D-don’t worry S-Sakura-chan! Y-you can count on me.”

After giving him a good stare down, Sakura beamed a smile and gave a salute. “Okay then! Well see you two at lunch!”

As she walked away Makoto let out a long breath and rested his head in the crook of her neck. “Haaa I didn’t know Sakura-chan could be so scary!”

Rika chuckled and turned to face him. She reached out and ruffled his hair. “You have nothing to worry about goofball.”

“G-g-goofball? Oi!” He pinched her cheek as she laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the day dragged on the worse Rika began to feel. Her head throbbed, her throat was scratchy, her nose was dripping, and her vision was starting to blur a bit. By the time her break came around she was ready to collapse but maybe she just needed something to drink or eat. Getting up from her desk she made her way into the hallway. As she began to make her way to the vending machine to get a drink she saw a welcome face coming towards her.

“Makoto.”

“Ah Rika!” He picked up his pace and closed the distance between them. “I was just coming to see you. I wanted to make sure you’re feeling okay.”

She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head. “I feel gross.”

Makoto held her steady by the shoulders and rested his forehead against hers. “Geez you’re burning up! Rika you should have said something and gone to the nurse.”

“No, no. She’ll send me home.”

“Exactly! You need to go home.” He placed an arm around her and began to guide her down the other end of the hall. “Come on I’m taking you to the nurse.”

“No! Makoto please!” He stopped and she pulled away from him. “I can’t go home. I have that test in history today. You helped me study for it and I won’t go home now! Remember my aunt and uncle are coming this week. I need to have as many good grades as I can to gloss over the fights.”

“Rika,” he sighed. Closing his eyes he hung his head. “I’m not going to win this one am I?”

“Nope.”

With another sigh he looked to her and shook his head. Glancing around the hall he spotted an extra desk sitting outside one the classrooms. He guided her over to it and made her sit. “Just do me a favor then and just sit so you don’t pass out. Where were you off to anyway?”

“Getting a drink.”

“What do you want?”

“Strawberry milk.”

He nodded and dug into his pocket to pull out the money. “Okay just wait here. I’ll be right back so don’t move.”

Rika nodded and reached up to tug on his sleeve. “Thank you Mako. I appreciate you.”

“And…” He raised a brow at her.

“A-and…I…love you.”

He smiled as he began to lean down towards her. “I love you too.”

Rika reached up and placed a hand over his mouth to stop him. “Don’t. I’m sick.”

Makoto pulled her hand away and closed the distance. His lips touched hers in a gentle and lingering exchange. Finally he pulled away and ruffled her hair before walking down the hall. Rika felt her cheeks warm and wasn’t sure if it was from the fever or from the wonderful boy doting on her. With a content sigh she leaned back in the seat, trying to ignore the little voice reminding her that her happiness came at the cost of her friend’s feelings.

As she sat there a voice called out to her from the other end of the hall. “Well, well Hama.”

Looking at the owner of the voice she groaned. “Natsume.”

The boy walked towards her with determined steps before stopping by the desk she was planted in. He loomed over her giving off some kind of chilling vibe. What had his pants in a bunch this time? Whatever it was she was in no mood for his crap. With a sigh she wished he would just leave. She had avoided contact with him for a while, if only that would continue.

“Alone are we?” He glanced around before putting his gaze back to her. “I don’t see four-eyes or blondie today. Nor stone face or tall puppy around either. What’s up? Did your swimming buddies abandon you?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

He placed his hands on the top of the desk and leaned over her. “Not gonna lie but if you were kicked to the side yeah I’d be pleased.”

She could feel her blood boiling and this time she knew it wasn’t the fever. Her fingers knotted into the hem of her skirt as she tried to keep calm. “You’re messed up. No wonder Yuuji-kun rejected you.”

“Tch. At least I’m capable of having feelings towards another. I don’t think you are.”

“Ha! I’ll have you know I’m dating someone. So shove that up your nose you ass!”

“You?” He let out a booming laugh. “Who would date you? They must be blind otherwise those cuts and bruises would have chased them off.”

Oh he was asking for it. God give her strength to not deck him and turn his face into a black hole. “I don’t care what you say. Get lost already. I’m in no mood for your crap.”

“Oh-ho? What’s wrong mighty fighter? Afraid you won’t win round two?”

Rika sighed. “I’m not up for a fight.”

“Interesting. You seemed up for one when you picked on one of my friends the other day!”

Ah the day Makoto had restrained her. So it came to bite her in the butt. Great. Staring at Natsume for a moment she finally got up from the desk so he wasn’t crashing down on her. “Look he was provoking me, much like you are right now, and I lashed out. I’ve gotten better control over that now so let it go.”

With that she turned her back to him and began to head down the hall. Natsume fumed behind her. “Let it go? _Let it go_?! Like hell I will! Get back here Hama!”

Natsume grabbed her arm and spun her around. As he did one of her feet caught on the other and she began to tumble. Trying to balance herself out, she tugged on him which earned the reaction of being pushed away. Natsume shoved Rika hard into the wall opposite causing her head to snap back and her already blurred vision to become worse. With a low groan she slid to the floor and tried to cradle her aching head.

Natsume began to move forward towards her but before anything further could happen she heard a loud thud. Blinking to clear her vision she found Makoto pressing Natsume against the floor with a fist raised. A small container of strawberry milk lay crushed, the contents smeared on the floor, nearby. Rika’s eyes widened at the sight before her. Makoto’s face a fierce expression she had never seen before. His brow was pulled into a deep crease, his usually kind eyes held a horrible fire of anger, while his lips were pulled into a snarl.

Rika tried to call out for Makoto to stop but the words stuck in her throat. A teacher came out of a nearby classroom at the commotion and pulled Makoto off Natsume. A couple others came out and helped Rika and Natsume up before all three of them were taken to the principal.


	20. Suspended

“Well I’m not really surprised to see Natsume-kun or Hama-chan here again.” The principal paused and looked the three students over briefly. “But Tachibana-kun I wouldn’t expect this behavior from you.”

The three students sat in chairs in front of the principal’s desk while the teachers who had brought them in stood behind them. Natsume kept his head down with his hands in his lap. Makoto kept his eyes on the principal and gripped the arms of his chair tightly. Rika, meanwhile, stared at Makoto with wide eyes and leaned away from him.

“I’m sorry sir,” Makoto answered in a hushed voice. “It’s just I saw Natsume-kun shove Rika into the wall and…I was just…”

“I see.” He glanced between Rika and Makoto before putting his eyes to Natsume. “Do you have something you want to explain Natsume-kun?” The boy remained silent and kept his eyes down. “Hmm. Well Hama-chan maybe you can enlighten us?”

Rika remained silently staring at Makoto like he was some kind of wild animal. The look he had on his face as he pinned Natsume to the floor was burned into her mind. She had never seen him like that nor expected he could ever look like that. It was scary to know he had that side to him. Makoto always struck her as being the happy, carefree, loving type at all times.

“Hama-chan!”

Makoto’s eyes slid over to her. She let out a little gasp and quickly looked away from him. “I—“ With a cough she cleared her throat and focused on the principal. “I’m not feeling good today and Makoto was getting me a drink. Natsume came up and was talking to me…things escalated and…”

“She picked a fight with one of my friends,” Natsume finally spoke up. “I wanted to tell her to leave my friends alone.”

“You’re not very articulate,” Rika mumbled. “Next time try actually using words and not actions. Idiot.”

“Why you—“

“Natsume-kun,” warned the principal. One of the teachers placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder as if to calm him. The principal sighed. “The three of you will be suspended starting today. Go get your things and go home.”

“Suspended?!” the three asked in unison. Natsume sighed and slumped in his chair. Rika sat at attention with her mouth gaping open.

“No, no, no! Wait.” Her voice cracked and rasped. “Suspend Natsume and me but don’t suspend Makoto! He was trying to help me, it’s not his fault! Please don’t punish him for this.”

He shook his head and gave her a look. “Tachibana-kun raised a fist to Natsume-kun. That is an act of violence towards another student. He is as much part of this as you two. I cannot let it slip. By all rights I should have suspended you or expelled you for all of your fights Hama-chan. I have gone easy with these fights but I cannot any longer. I’m sorry.”

“Whatever. I’m leaving.” Natsume stood and stalked out of the room.

Rika got to her feet and gave a low bow. “Please sir. I beg you!”

“No.”

With a sigh she straightened up. “How long are we suspended for?”

“Two weeks at least if not more. I need to reflect on this a bit as so should the both of you.”

All the blood rushed from her body and a strong dizzy sensation flooded her. Rika tittered slightly but was steadied by warm hands against her back. Looking back she found Makoto standing right behind her. He moved his hands so he held her by the shoulders and her back was pressed to his chest. She eased herself out of his grip before speaking again.

“B-but my aunt and uncle are coming this week.” She turned back to the principal, missing the sliver of hurt that crossed Makoto’s face as she moved away. “Please let me stay in school till after they come.”

“It is regrettable Hama-chan but I cannot allow it.” He stood and rubbed his forehead. “The both of you should get your things and head home. Hama-chan take care of that cold.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rika felt like she could cry or throw up. Maybe both. Walking down the hallways she felt like a hand was gripping her heart with intention to kill. How could this happen? Things were getting back on track, everything seemed like it was starting to work out, but she should have known it was too good to be true.

“Rika.” She flinched at the sound of his voice. Turning she found Makoto had come to a stop a little ways down the hall. “Do you have something you want to say?”

She hesitated for a long moment, keeping her gaze away from him. “I’m sorry I got you suspended.”

He didn’t respond. A long quiet moment went by before she chanced a glance at him. A dark look had shadowed his face and his hands were balled into fists at his side. “Is that it?”

Quickly nodding she turned away from him. “I’m going home. I really don’t feel good.”

“Rika.”

Ignoring his voice she walked as quickly as she could. Makoto chased after her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He grabbed her as she made it to the landing of the stairs leading to their homes and spun her around to face him. “Why are you running from me?”

“Makoto please.” Rika pushed against his chest.

“Look at me.” He dipped his head to try and catch her eye. The hurt was evident in his voice making her stomach clench. “ _Please look at me._ ”

Rika slowly raised her eyes up to him. The hurt was not only in his voice but also in his eyes. His green eyes glittered as tears brimmed and slipped over down his cheeks. Her fingers curled into the front of his jacket as she looked at him.

“Makoto,” she sighed. With her own sad look she took his hand and led him the rest of the way up the stairs.

The two of them walked past his house and down towards hers. After kicking off their shoes Rika set up the kotatsu while Makoto went into the kitchen and made tea. The two of them remained silent until they were both under the kotatsu. They sipped at the tea, glancing at each other every once in a while. Rika set her cup down and turned her eyes to him.

“You scared me,” she said quietly. His eyes were focused on her lips so he wouldn’t miss a word. “When I saw you over Natsume…I have never seen you look like that before. It scared me a lot.”

His hands scrunched into fists on the top of the table. “I didn’t mean to scare you but…how could I not react the way I did?”

“E-eh?”

His brow creased as he frowned. “Natsume-kun hurt someone I love. When I saw him throw you into the wall I couldn’t stop myself. I didn’t want to. I wanted to hit him, to make him understand how he’d hurt you, so he would know how it feels. You are sick Rika, weak, especially at that moment and he took advantage of that.”

“Mako…”

He let out a long breath. “I’m human Rika. I have all the emotions other humans have you know. I’m not always happy and light hearted. I can feel anger and hate just the same as anyone.”

It was like a light had been switched on. Of course he is human, of course he would react the way he did. It just surprised her. Crawling out from the kotatsu she made her way to his side. She placed her hands on either side of his face and turned him towards her. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry Makoto.”

Her lips captured his in quick kisses. Makoto tried to speak in between but she did not give him a chance. The kisses became longer the more he tried to speak. Finally he gave in and wrapped his arms around her. He returned the kisses and pulled her close. After placing one last long kiss he pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers.

“I’m really sorry you got suspended,” she whispered.

“Hmm. I’m more worried about you.” He pulled back so he could see her better. “Do you really think your aunt and uncle will make you move?”

She nodded and bit her lip. “This is just the cherry on top. I really think this is it.” A dry laugh escaped her as she shook her head. “And the timing couldn’t be worse. We finally have each other and now…”

He stroked her hair lovingly. “Even if you have to leave you’ll always be mine. I don’t care where you go. And we can always work out trips where you come to visit or we’ll come to visit you. It will work out. I promise.”

“I feel like I’m in a shoujo manga.” With a shaky breath she nodded. “Will you stay with me tonight? I don’t want to be alone.”

“Might be tricky. I still have to break the news to my parents that I’m suspended.”

“Ah.”

“I’ll make it back. I can sneak out of my room pretty easily.”

“No, no, no. You should stay home. I’m sick anyway. If kissing hasn’t made you sick already then staying with me will do the trick.” She moved out of his arms and went back to her side. “I don’t want you to get this cold.”

He stood and stretched. “I should head out. The longer I let it wait the worse it will be. I’ll be back.”

Walking over to her his fingers slipped under her chin and lifted it. His lips met hers quickly before he turned and headed for the door. She sat there listening to him putting his shoes on and the door closing behind him. A smile spread across her lips. She was seeing all kinds of sides to Makoto now. Thinking back to when they were kids or when she spotted him her first year of high school she had always seen him as the shy, sunbeam individual. Now she had seen the protective, fierce, loving sides and wanted more. So much more.


	21. Good for you

A long shower, a few cups of tea, and new warm pajamas made Rika feel a little better. By the time late afternoon crawled around she was back under the kotatsu and casually watching TV. As she lounged she pulled out her phone to see a message from Sakura hoping that things were okay and that she was going to say a prayer for her aunt and uncle’s visit. After typing a quick thanks to Sakura she asked if Mei had responded to the message sent earlier. She hadn’t. So she wasn’t even talking to Sakura hu?

_To: Mei_

_Hey. Sorry about what happened on the beach…Makoto and I are starting to date. The first thing we’ve done as a couple is get suspended. Pretty stupid hu?_

Rika read the message over and over. She changed it here and there before erasing it and writing the original message over again. Holding a breath she hit the send button and wondered if Mei would find it annoying or unfriendly. But she deserved to know that Makoto and her were together and that Rika was the one telling her so there weren’t any surprises. Letting out her breath she set her phone aside and turned her attention back to the TV.

In the back of her mind a voice nagged that she should be studying, doing something productive, so that when she went back to school it would be a breeze. It would also be helpful when her aunt and uncle learned about the suspension. Too see that she was still working hard academically instead of doing nothing might make them hold off on the whole moving idea. Or not…

But today was a day to waste. Her cold had ebbed a little but not enough to make her feel like working that day. Besides if Makoto did come back then no studying would get done. She would rather pull him under the kotatsu with her and cuddle away the cold day. Ah he did spoil her like she didn’t think anyone could. He made her feel warm, loved, and relaxed. He had protected her from herself as well as others. Rika was glad to hang up her cape and no longer be the hero of Iwatobi and just be his Rika only.

She smiled lazily as she began to doze in her daydreams of what was to come being by Makoto’s side. A knocking at the front door dragged her out of thoughts and sent her heart into a rapid beat. Was Makoto back that fast? She expected him later if at all. His parents seemed like gentle people but that was before he got suspended for trying to help her.

 _Maybe I should have gone with him to explain…_ The knock came again as she shuffled into the hallway. “Coming! I didn’t think you’d be back so…” Opening the door she found another surprise.

“Ri-chan!”

“Good afternoon Rika-chan.”

“Yo Rika.”

Before her stood Rei, Nagisa, and Haru. Rika stood in the doorway feeling surprised and thrilled at the same time. “Uhm…”

“We heard you and Makoto-senpai got suspended,” began Rei as he adjusted his glasses. “Gou-san heard the story from someone who saw and told us right away. She would have come but something came up.”

Nagisa pushed forward, holding the straps of his backpack tightly, and leaned forward. Rika leaned back a bit as he began to speak excitedly. “We also heard you are sick and Mako-chan was protecting you! It’s like something out of a fairytale! A strong princess saved by her knight in a moment of weakness.”

“Eh what fairytale is that?” Rei shook his head.

Rika’s brow pulled together as the two began to argue about there being a fairytale as such. A smile began to spread across her lips as Haru silently made his way to her side. Rika hesitated and kept her gaze away from him as they stood together.

“So,” he began slowly and quietly. “Suspension hu?”

She flinched a little and brought her gaze up to him. With an embarrassed laugh she rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah well—you know me. Always getting into fights and the like.”

“But this time it was Makoto who was fighting. Not you.”

“Geh.” Her hand dropped from the back of her neck. His cool gaze sent a shiver down her back. Was Haru upset with her? Why? Because she had involved his friend and gotten him kicked out of school for two weeks no doubt. But…she hadn’t meant to do that. “Y-yeah guess you’re right.”

“So…”

“Uh guess while he’s had a good effect on me I’ve had a negative one on him hu?”

Haru tilted his head slightly while his brow furrowed. His voice was gentle as he spoke, as if she would scare easy if he spoke louder. “I don’t think so. I think you’ve been good for him as much as he has been for you.”

“Hu?”

“…Tangled is so like that Rei-chan!” Nagisa’s voice broke through their conversation and brought their attention back to the other two. “Anyway Ri-chan can we come in? We brought movies and food and medicine.”

Nagisa held out his backpack and shook it as evidence of what they had brought. With a cough, that was meant to be a chuckle, she nodded and stepped aside to let them in. Nagisa rushed in first and was followed by Rei. Haru paused for another moment as he rummaged through his own bag. Finally he presented his offering to her.

“We also brought this.” In his hands he held out a white kitten, who mewed upon seeing her. “To cuddle or whatever until Makoto comes back.”

“Eh. Yuki?” Rika took the kitten from his hands and brought it to her chest. “Thanks Haru!”

He bowed his head as he passed her and walked into the house. “Excuse the intrusion.”

“Hey, hey Ri-chan Rei is going to make you soup,” called Nagisa from inside.

With a wide smile and a sigh Rika snuggled Yuki to her chest and shut the door. How did she get so lucky to meet these guys and have them care so much? How did she manage to find such goofballs who could make her smile so easily? She was grateful to add such wonderful people to her list of friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“That was so good!” Rika set the bowl down on the table and sighed. “Thanks Rei! You’re a really great cook.”

“Cooking is just more theories and formulas.” Rei’s cheeks turned slightly red at the compliment. “I, I’m glad you liked it Rika-chan.”

She smiled as he turned his attention back to the movie Nagisa had picked out. The four of them sat under the warmth of the kotatsu watching the movie, eating snacks, playing with Yuki, and occasionally talking when parts of the movie got boring. At one particular part Nagisa flipped onto his back and lifted Yuki onto his chest.

“So Ri-chan where is Mako-chan? Thought he would have been here with you, what with you two being a lovey couple like Haru said.”

Rika narrowed her eyes at the quiet boy next to her. Would she get to tell anyone about her and Makoto or was Haru going to do it all? “Ah well he was here earlier but he left. Had to break the news to his parents about what happened.”

Nagisa nodded while Yuki nibbled on his thumb. “So what about your parents? Are they going to be back from work soon?”

“Ah…well…” Right she hadn’t told them about her situation. Makoto, Sakura, and Mei were the only ones who knew about her predicament.

“Hm? Ri-chan? Are your parents away like Haru-chan’s maybe?”

“You see…that is…”

“Stop it.” Haru kicked Nagisa under the kotatsu. “She doesn’t have to tell us.”

“Ouch Haru-chan!” Nagisa puffed out his cheeks and nudged Haru back with his foot. “I was just asking.”

Rika waved her hand and put on a little smile. “No it’s fine. My close friends know about it anyway. And since we are all close now…”

“Rika-chan,” Rei said thoughtfully. “I am touched if you think of us as close friends. But truly if you don’t want to say you don’t have to.”

“Thanks but really it’s okay.”

With a small smile she began to explain her situation with her parents. She explained how her aunt and uncle would have loved to have her move right away but made a deal with her. Keep good grades and no fighting and she could stay in Iwatobi. If not then she would have to move, sell her childhood home, and live with them in Kyoto. It was easy to tell them the story just as it had been easy to tell Makoto. It made her feel a little more comfortable having a few more people know about her and making that bond with them.

“They’re coming this week to do their monthly meeting,” she finished with a sigh. “And being suspended…well I’m sure I’ll have to move.”

It went quiet for a long moment before sniffles were heard. Looking up she saw Rei trying his best to hold back the tears while Nagisa began to sob. The blond crawled on his knees over to her and wrapped his arms around her neck as he wailed.

“Ri-chan! Please don’t leave!” He buried his face into her shoulder. “We just became good friends! You can’t go!”

“Rika-chan what a sad tale!” Rei removed his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. “I’d hate for this to be the beginning and ending for our time together.”

“Geez,” huffed Haru. He reached over and began to tug at the younger boy’s arms. “Stop Nagisa. Rei, you too. This isn’t helping.” He successfully pulled Nagisa off as he continued. “Instead of crying we should do anything we can to help out. We need to do our best to support Rika. No matter what happens. We shouldn’t be saying it’s going to be the end. We should be telling her we will always be friends no matter where she is.”

Rika looked at him with wide eyes. Tears began to brim in her own eyes. “Haru…”

Rei sniffed, grabbing a tissue from the pack they had set out, and replaced his glasses. “Haruka-senpai is right. If there is any way we can help Rika-chan please let us! I can help you study alongside Makoto-senpai.”

“Thank you Rei. That means a lot,” she smiled and scrubbed at her eyes.

“Yes! We will help!” Nagisa got free of Haru’s grasp and reattached to her. New tears and sobs of happiness burst from him as she patted his head. “And we _will_ always be friends! Always, always!”

Haru sighed. “Geez.”

Rika laughed and hugged Nagisa. “Thanks you guys! I can’t tell you how much this means to me really.”

“Rika,” came a welcome voice from the entrance way. “Excuse the intrusion but the door was open and I…” Makoto came padding in and paused upon seeing the scene before him. “Eh?”

“Yo Makoto,” greeted Haru.

Rei was furiously blowing his nose, Nagisa was strapped to Rika, and Haru lounged while idly playing with Yuki in his lap. A movie played in the background, wrappers from snacks were scattered, and medicine bottles and packs of tissues and other cold remedies littered the table of the kotatsu. Makoto looked down at the bag of supplies he had bought for her and sighed.

“You guys beat me to it,” he sighed as his shoulder slumped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I was hoping I’d have you to myself.” Makoto sat beside Rika, having pulled Nagisa off and gotten him to refocus on the movie, and pressed a hand over one of hers. “I was going to nurse you back to heath all on my own but…”

Rika smiled and pressed her shoulder against his. “I appreciate the thought. I feel better already with you here now.”

He returned the smile and leaned against her shoulder. “Glad to hear it.”

“How’d it go with your parents?”

Makoto closed his eyes and hung his head a bit. “They yelled. But I explained the situation and they were a little understanding. I told them that while I was suspended I would pick up more hours at the swim club. They were pleased with that and they’re sorry you’re feeling really sick.”

She nodded relieved to hear that it had gone okay with his parents, more or less. “I’m feeling a little better now. At least better than I did this morning.”

Moving her hair away from her face he placed his hand to her forehead. “Hm you don’t feel as warm so that’s good. But maybe we should put a cold pack on your head anyway.”

He picked up a packet off the table and opened it up. Rika sat quietly as he placed the patch across her forehead before rummaging through what the others brought and what he had brought. She smiled to herself as she watched him while Haru’s words played through her mind.

_I think you’ve been good for him as much as he has been for you._

So they were equally good for each other. That’s how Haru saw it and he wouldn’t lie to her. But how had she been good for Makoto? He had helped her so much more than she could think of the things she had done for him. What had she done for him? Made him worry, take care of her, made him angry, got him into a fight, and got him suspended from school.

“…okay?”

The sound of his voice brought her back out of her thoughts? “What?”

“You spaced out and were staring at me.” He set down a bottle of cough syrup and turned a little more towards her. “You should probably get some sleep.”

“Yeah guess so.” She looked around the room quickly to see Nagisa passed out on the floor. Rei’s head rested on the other boy’s back as he also dozed. Haru’s head began to droop as his hand slowly stopped petting Yuki. “Looks like it’s going to be a sleep over.”

Makoto chuckled as he looked at his friends. “You got stuck with quite a group hu?”

Rika snuggled into the kotatsu a little more and smiled warmly. “I don’t mind one bit. It’s nice they came today. I haven’t had others in the house for so long. I kinda forgot what it’s like to have people around the house.”

His brow pulled together as a sad gleam shined in his eyes. Taking both her hands in his, Makoto made sure Rika was looking at him. “Rika I promise that it will never be empty again! You’ll always have us and we will always be here! If you ever feel lonely just call and I will always come over and so will the others. I promise!”

Rika sat there for a moment taking in what he had just said. Makoto held her hands tightly, his lips tightened into a thin line, and his jaw clenched with his serious manner. And yet his arms were shaking, his palms were sweating, and he made a little humming sound as he watched her so closely. He looked as he had when he told her to rely on him no matter what. The same determined and caring look sat in his eyes just as it had when he took her by the shoulders and made his promise, his warmth seeping into her. A little laugh began to bubble in her chest and made its way up her throat. She bit her lower lip to try and keep it in but her shoulders shook as she snorted.

“Eh…”

“S-sorry!” The light bubble turned into a rattling laugh as she tried not to cough along with it. “I don’t mean to laugh…”

Makoto’s shoulders slumped and his grip on her hands loosened. “Oi you…”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” She shook her head and put on a wide smile. “It’s just you made me so happy right now.” Removing her hands from his she threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you Makoto.” She placed a kiss to his cheek. “I love you.”

After a moment of hesitation he hugged her back tightly. “I love you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was so quiet, save for the TV glowing as another movie played. Nagisa and Rei had shifted closer towards Haru and curled around each other. Haru had propped himself up against the couch, his head lolled to the side, with a hand resting on the other two. Makoto had his head in Rika’s lap and Yuki sleeping against his stomach. Her fingers brushed through the soft toughs of sandy brown hair lovingly as she sat up not yet feeling sleep tugging her away from consciousness. As she sat watching the movie she saw Haru stir in the corner of her eye.

“Haru?” She turned to see him scrubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Are you okay?”

He nodded quietly before yawning. “Had a weird dream about mackerel trying to cook me and then ending up swimming next to Rin. He had a shark head…” He shook his head and looked to her. “Haven’t you slept at all?”

She shook her head. “Not tired.”

“You should sleep though. It will help with the cold.”

“I know…” For a moment she turned her attention back to the TV before speaking up again. “Hey Haru.”

“Hm?” he hummed after adjusting himself into a more comfortable position.

“What did you mean earlier? How have I been good for Makoto?”

He stretched his arms above his head as he glanced down to where his friend slept. “He shows more of what he is feeling because of you. A lot of people assume that he is all smiles all the time. He’s not, though he rarely shows anything but a smile. Which isn’t bad but… Makoto is usually a push over. The few times we’ve gotten in a fight, for example, or if he’s had an argument with anyone else, he is quick to take the blame. He doesn’t really like confrontation so he ends it quickly by saying it was his fault.”

Rika looked down at the sleeping young man. Her fingers paused in their caress as she watched him and considered what was said. It didn’t really surprise her.

“And physical violence is really out of the question for him,” Haru continued after a moment. “The only time I’ve seen him be violent is in video games. Even then he doesn’t own a lot of games where you have to fight.”

That was true. Thinking about the time she spent in his room she remembered the games he had. Most were games where the character went on a mission, or a driving game, there was even some kind of cat game tucked away.

“When I heard that he had gone after Natsume-kun I was kind of shocked.” Haru watched his best friend for a moment thoughtfully. “But then I realized I was also kind of happy. I’m glad Makoto feels protective of you and that it spurred him into action instead of just standing by. He showed jealousy and let it get to him. He also seems more willing to express what’s on his mind, when given the right push. So that’s why I think you’ve been good for him Rika.”

“Hu.” With a smile she resumed petting Makoto’s head. “Thanks Haru.”

He nodded and yawned. “Go to sleep.”

Giving a nod back she readjusted. Makoto woke for a moment and moved so she could lay next to him under the kotatsu. One of his arms acted as her pillow while the other draped across her hips. Makoto pulled her tightly against him till her face was comfortably buried in his chest. She placed one of her own arms across his hips while the other lay between them. Being wrapped in his warmth and having her friends around her sent a calming wave through her body. Her eyes slowly closed as she listened to the quiet sounds of Makoto sleeping.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Makoto woke to a purring by his ear. Slowly he cracked an eye open and found Yuki staring back at him. The second his eyes opened the kitten meowed and purred louder as it began to nuzzle into his face. Makoto chuckled quietly and scratched the little furry head. Content with this, Yuki curled into a ball next to him and closed its eyes. Makoto smiled and yawned before taking in his surroundings. Waking up somewhere that wasn’t his own room always felt a little strange. Though, if he really thought about it, waking up at Rika’s had a similar feel to being at Haru’s.

With his parents gone a lot of the time the house felt bare and lonely. It wasn’t cold, per say, with Haru’s presence there to fill the empty space with the warmth and love of family and friends. But Rika’s…it had that cold, empty, and lonely feeling. The absence of family warmth, a ghost of what used to be, lingered in the crooks. Of course with all of them packed in there the night before it felt different and was easy to ignore in the glow of the TV and the protection of the kotatsu. But now in the morning light, seeing all the vacant space, and seeing that the other had left already made it easy to sense.

After staring at the ceiling for a long while, taking in this feeling of the house, Makoto turned his head to the person sleeping next to him. Rika was on her back, mouth hanging open, one hand clinging to his shirt, and her stomach exposed. Shaking his head he reached over and tugged her shirt down.

“Your cold won’t go away if you sleep like that,” he whispered to her. She mumbled in response and tightened her hold on his shirt. Makoto turned, as best he could, and faced her. “Rika. Are you going to wake up?”

A humming sound pushed past her lips as a response. Makoto reach out and pushed her hair out of her face. With his index finger he traced from the top of her brow and down the length of her nose. He repeated this a couple of times before Rika rolled to her side away from him and sneezed loudly.

“Ew,” came her groggy voice followed by a series of sniffles. “Why is the human body so gross?”

Makoto sat up and grabbed a pack of tissues off the table. “Here Rika take these.”

Grabbing a handful she attended to her nose. “Thanks. Hope I didn’t wake the others.”

“You don’t have to worry about them. They’re gone.”

Rika rubbed her eyes and looked around her. Haru, Rei, and Nagisa were nowhere to be seen. The medicine bottles had all been neatly arranged, the trash they had made last night was gone, and everything was left tidy. “Aw they left already.”

“They have school, unlike us.” Something on the table caught Makoto’s eye. Shifting aside one of the bottles he picked up a folded paper. “Here. I think it’s for you.”

Rika set aside her wad of tissues and unfolded the paper. Neatly written was the message: _Do your best Rika!_ She smiled and hugged the note to her chest. Her father used to leave notes like these in her bento or her backpack. They were always welcome surprises to get during the day. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath and happily hummed.

“Ah,” came a sigh next to her. “They beat me to it again.”

Opening her eyes she looked to Makoto. He sat next to her running his hands through his hair with a pout on his face. “Beat you to what?”

His hands stilled in his hair while his eyes glanced to her. “M-making you smile f-first thing in the morning.”

Setting the note aside Rika pounced on Makoto. One hand rested on his shoulder while the other moved to his hip as he was pushed against the floor.

“Whaa! Rika!”

While Makoto lay there trapped, Rika proceeded to spread kisses. She kissed his forehead, cheeks, nose, jaw, and finally his lips. Placing another kiss to his lips she felt his hesitant hands against her lower back. Keeping her eyes closed and staying close to him she spoke quietly.

“You always make me happy Makoto. Without even trying, all the little things you do, make me happy.” Finally she opened her eyes to see the mess of a boy that lay under her. His eyes were half closed, cheeks blazing with a blush, and his lower lip caught between his teeth. “Makoto? Are you embarrassed just from a few kisses?”

“N-n-no!” He turned his head away as he began to mumble. “I’m just not used to having you like this. Or being all lovey in the morning or something…”

Rika laughed and placed a kiss to his cheek. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to make you embarrassed.”

“I’m not,” he whined.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After eating breakfast together, Makoto and Rika made a promise to have a swim lesson and a study session later as long as she was feeling better. With a long hug Makoto departed for his own house to get ready for the extra work he had taken on. Rika closed the door behind him and went back into the living room. Yuki had gotten up on the couch and curled into a little ball.

“Guess that’s your spot now hu?”

Yuki gave a little meow in response making Rika laugh. As she stretched out her limbs she heard her phone ring. Grabbing it she found a message from Mei. Her heart pounded in her head as she looked at the screen. Was this real? Had Mei actually responded to her? With shaking fingers she opened her phone and read the message.

_From: Mei_

_If ur expecting me to frgve u, ur wrong_.

Well that she expected.

_And now I really can’t frgve u Rika. Suspension?! Wut were u thnkng?! Not only did u get Makoto-senpai involved but ur aunt and uncle will….Hw am I supposed 2 frgve u if ur in Kyoto?_

“Mei…” Rika read the message once more before closing her phone. Holding it tightly she brought it up to her forehead and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry Mei.”


	22. Don't give up hope

The rest of the week flew by and before she knew it, it was Thursday. Rika had been studying her brains out with Haru in the morning before he left for school (a breakfast of baked mackerel included). In the early hours of the day she would clean the house, visit her parents, look up different recipes, or go grocery shopping. In the afternoon she would go over what happened in class with Nagisa, Rei, and Gou. Sakura would usually call and tell her information that maybe the others hadn’t mentioned. Even Mei was texting her now and then to see how things were going. Then after the trio left she would have a swimming lesson with Makoto. He always invited her back to the house for dinner but she refused.

“They aren’t angry at you,” he always insisted.

But she still felt nervous to face his parents. It was her fault he had gotten suspended and she knew though they were good people they must have blamed her a little. She would and did blame herself for it. If Makoto hadn’t become close to her, if he hadn’t loved her he would still be in school and everything would be fine.

This thought crossed her mind once more as she began to gather her things for their swimming lesson. As she was about to head for the door she paused and ran back to her room to grab her phone. She had left it off upstairs so she wouldn’t be distracted by it while studying with the others. Turning it back on a message immediately lit up the screen. A message from Makoto sat unread, sent earlier in the day.

_From: Mako_

_No swimming lesson today. Remember when you kept telling me I would catch your cold? :(_

Rika groaned and flopped down on her bed as she began to type out a response.

_To: Mako_

_Oh no! Are you sick?_

It only took a couple of minutes for the response to come through.

_From: Mako_

_Yup. Full blown fever, runny nose, sore throat, and complete with aches._

_To: Mako_

_Oh Gods I’m sorry! I guess all those kisses and staying the night really did it hu?_

_From: Mako_

_Maybe. Don’t worry about it. Just means I have some time to play the new game I got last month._

Rika sighed and dragged a hand through her hair. Great. Now she had gotten him sick. Maybe Haru was wrong when he said she had been good for him. Getting up from her bed she began to move about the house gathering things here and there. After making sure she had what she wanted, Rika grabbed her keys and made her way out the door. Walking quickly she made her way to the Tachibana household. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as she pressed the button and the doorbell sounded. Her fingers tightened around the bag she was carrying as she heard footsteps coming to the door. It creaked open and revealed his mother. Rika gave a low bow sending her long hair down like a curtain to cover her face.

“Kame-san I’m sorry!” The words came rushing out in one breath. “I’m truly sorry!”

Kame tilted her head to the side, looking much like her son, as she looked at the young girl. “Ha? Whatever for Rika-chan?”

“Well…I…” Fidgeting, still in a low bow, Rika fumbled over her words. “I got Makoto suspended and now he is sick because of me.”

“Rika-chan,” came her gentle voice. Rika straightened slightly and looked up. Kame had a kind smile on her lips and affectionate gleam in her eyes. “Come on straighten up.”

She took Rika by the shoulders and straightened her up all the way. Kame gently pulled her into the house and shut the door. Once in the entrance way the woman pulled her into a hug. Rika let out a long breath as the warmth spread from Kame to her. The warm hug eased into her and made her relax. After a long moment Kame released her and placed a hand to her cheek.

“It’s not your fault. You don’t need to apologize for anything. Understand?” She tucked Rika’s hair behind her ear as any affectionate mother would. “I’m proud of my son for protecting someone he loves. I’m happy you two care for each other so strongly. So no more apologies.”

Rika nodded. “I still got him sick though.”

Kame chuckled. “Well then you should make him feel better.” She glanced down to the bag Rika was holding. “Looks like you came prepared. He is upstairs.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rika opened the door slowly in case he had fallen asleep and she didn’t want to wake him. Peering in she found him sitting on his bed and frowning down at his phone. A video game was paused, the controller sitting discarded at his side. Opening the door wider she stepped in grabbing his attention. His eyes widened slightly as she walked in and closed the door behind her.

“Rika…”

She gave a little wave as she stood by the door. “Why were you looking at your phone like it had betrayed you?”

He glanced down to where his phone lay in front of him and then back to her. “You stopped responding. I thought something was wrong.”

“Ah!” Rika quickly dug out her cellphone to find a couple of messages from him

_From: Mako_

_How was your day?_

_From: Mako_

_Rika? Are you okay?_

“Sorry! I was in a hurry to get here and…I didn’t hear it go off.” She mumbled the last part and tucked her phone away.

Makoto pulled his knees up to his chest and tilted his head to the side. “You hurried to get here? Why?”

She held up the bag she had brought. “Supplies. I thought you might need these more than me. They helped with my cold so…”

He smiled and nodded. “Thanks Rika.”

“I’ll just…” She gestured to his desk and set out the bottles, tissues, and cooling packs. “Hopefully these work as well for you as they did for me.”

Makoto nodded again before a frown creased his brow. “Why are you standing all the way over there? Afraid you’ll get sick again?”

“What? N-no.”

“Are you going home?”

She fidgeted and shifted from side to side. “…I didn’t want to. Not just yet.”

Makoto snorted and smiled. Reaching out a hand to her he said, “Well then c’mere.”

Letting herself smile she walked over and took his hand. Makoto shifted and parted his legs so she could sit between them. Rika climbed up onto the bed and positioned herself so her back rested against his thigh, her legs spreading out over his, and her head resting against his shoulder. Makoto brought his arms around her and pulled her close against him and rested his head against hers. They sat quietly like that for a long moment.

Rika pulled back as much as she could in his embrace and took a closer look at him. She could feel the heat radiating from his skin, dark circles sat under his bright eyes, and his nose was red and raw from using so many tissues. Makoto looked back at her with droopy eyes

and a tired smile. Rika reached up and pushed her fingers through his hair. Her nails scratched lightly against his scalp making him hum and close his eyes.

“Your fingers feel so cool,” he murmured.

Rika smiled and passed her fingers through his hair once more before resting her hand against his burning cheek. “You should get some rest. You look exhausted. “

Makoto hummed again and opened his eyes. “Or you could watch me beat this game.”

With a little chuckle she nodded. Rika readjusted so that her back was against his chest and her legs hung over the bed along with his. Makoto brought the controller up, his arms still around her, and un-paused the game.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The game had only taken half an hour to finish. She watched as he skillfully maneuvered through the game (a shooting game surprisingly) and accomplished the last task with ease. After that he hand turned regular TV on and left the volume low so they could talk. They had readjusted once again to where they could lay back on the bed. Rika lay on her back with her head on his pillow and her arms curled around him. Makoto lay on his side, head on her shoulder, and legs draped across her waist. One of his arms was tucked under hers while the other fiddled with strands of her hair. He had pulled a blanket over them insisting that it didn’t make him feel warmer.

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” he asked after a quiet moment had passed between them.

Rika nodded as she absentmindedly rubbed his arm. “Yeah but it’s not because they are going to find out about the fights or my grades. I’m… nervous that they are going to be disappointed in me.”

Makoto shifted his head so he could look up at her. “They won’t be. You’ve been working so hard Rika. Your aunt and uncle are going to see how much effort you’ve been putting in and that will make them so happy. Also to know that you’ve stopped fighting and that you’re safe, I’m sure, is all they want. Don’t give up hope.”

Pulling him closer to her she smiled. “Yeah. You’re right Makoto. It could go better than I think.”

He pushed himself up on his elbows for a moment and looked down at her. Rika stared back at him and waited for him to speak. She could see something pushing through his mind and forming the words on his tongue. After a moment of just watching each other he took a breath and opened his mouth.

“You get so negative sometimes,” he said in a low voice. He could see her eyes widen a bit. “I’m sorry. It’s just…something I noticed.”

Rika brought her gaze away from him and shook her head. “You don’t need to apologize. It is something I do. Sometimes…sometimes it’s just a little hard for me to accept the positive things in my life. Sometimes I need the confirmation from someone else that it is okay for me to be happy about something or that I can have things work out the way I want.”

“ _It is_ okay Rika.” She looked back to meet his comforting gaze. “It’s okay for you to be happy right now. Things will work out with your aunt and uncle tomorrow and I’m sorry I won’t be there to be by your side. But everything will work out. Right?”

She nodded and let herself smile up at him. Makoto gave her a warm smile back before lowering himself back down. His head rested against her shoulder and his arms slid under her. Rika hugged Makoto close to her and scratched lightly across his back.

“Are you going to stay for a while?” he asked in a hushed voice.

“Yeah.”

“Good. So sleepy…” His words gave way to a yawn and his head felt heavier on her shoulder.

She smiled to herself and buried her nose in his hair. “Then sleep for a bit.”

Makoto hummed in response before his breathing slowed and he was out like a light. Rika pet his soft hair and turned her head towards the TV that was humming with some random show they had turned on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Makoto hadn’t been asleep long when a knock came at the door. Rika wiggled her way out from under her boyfriend and opened the door. His mother stood on the other side and beckoned her out after peeking at her sleeping child.

“Rika-chan, Mako mentioned that your aunt and uncle are coming,” she began as Rika closed the door quietly behind her. “Would they like to come for dinner tomorrow night?”

“Yes I think they would. Thank you for asking Kame-san.”

“Of course,” she said waving her hand as if it were nothing. “Now I’m getting dinner together. When it is ready I’ll have you bring some up for Mako.”

Rika nodded. “Of course! Is there anything I can help with?”

Kame thought for a long moment before her expression lit up. “Could you keep the twins out of the kitchen? Those little beasts are always trying to steal deserts before food is even ready.”

Rika laughed and smiled widely. “Yes I can do that I think.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


“Yo-kai, yo-kai, yo-kai, yo-kai, yo-kai are out so I’m staying in,” sang Rika as she walked up to Makoto’s rook with a tray of food. “Yo-kai, yo-kai, yo-kai won’t you be my friend? We can go with the flow, shake it to and fro, spending time with me. Yo-kai, yo-kai, yo-kai watch chi chi.”

Coming into the room she found Makoto sitting up with his back against the wall. She hummed the tune as she closed the door and set the tray on his desk. Makoto watched her with a little smile as he pulled the blanket over his lap.

“What are you singing?”

Rika sat on the edge of the bed. She rested a hand on his knee as she said, “It’s from Yo-Kai Watch. I was watching it with the twins. They made me do the dance and everything.”

Makoto let out something between a cough and a laugh. “Aw I missed that sight.”

“I’m sure the twins would be glad to do it again.” Standing up she walked over to his desk and grabbed a plate and chopsticks. “Here. Your mom made dinner.”

“Ah. Thank you.” Putting his hands together in front of him and closed his eyes. “Thanks for the food.”

Rika grabbed the other plate and joined him. Makoto turned up the volume on the TV as they began to eat. They were quiet, watching the show, and filling their mouths with food. Makoto took a break from brining his chopsticks from his bowl to his mouth and looked to Rika.

“A date.”

Rika paused mid bite and looked over to him. “What?”

Makoto set his plate down on his lap and cleared his throat. “A date. We haven’t been on a proper date.”

“Hu…guess we haven’t.”

Pink tinged the tips of his ears and cheeks. “Well then when I’m better we will go out. You and me on a proper date.”

Rika smiled and nodded. “I would love that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“There she is!”

Lin came running up to where Rika was standing in front of the house. The woman wrapped her arms around her niece and gave her a crushing hug. Rika hugged her aunt back as her uncle joined them with their bags. After a long hug Lin released Rika and held her at arm’s length.

“Look at my little Ri-chan,” she cooed. “No more scrapes, bruises, or bandages. You look so lovely sweetie.”

“Thanks Auntie Lin.” Looking over Lin’s shoulder she smiled at her uncle. “Hi Uncle Tori.”

Hatori smiled, looking a lot like her father in the moment, and gave a little wave. “Hey kiddo. Come give me a hug.”

Moving away from her aunt Rika was met with her uncle’s open arms. Burying her face in his strong chest tears began to sting her eyes. He always reminded her of her dad and it was painful and wonderful at the same time. Hatori rocked her lightly in his arms and kissed the top of her head before releasing her. He tucked her hair behind her ears and cupped her face.

“Look at you. Getting prettier every time I see you.” He chuckled and shook his head. “No wonder the boys are walking you to school.”

Rika felt her face flush and turned her gaze away from him. “Geez.”

“That’s right! Uncle told me you had a boy walking you to school!” Lin poked Rika’s shoulder with a sly smile on her lips. “So who is he Ri-chan?”

“H-his name is Tachibana Makoto. He lives a couple houses down.” Rika fidgeted, her face still in her uncle’s grasp. “A-and he is kind of m-my b-b-boyfriend…”

“What?!” Lin spun Rika around, her eyes sparkling with excitement and tears. “ _Boyfriend?!_ Oh Rika! That’s so wonderful! My little Ri-chan so grownup! Hatori what am I going to do?”

Hatori laughed as his wife squeezed their niece to her chest, suffocating the girl, and petting her hair enthusiastically. “Let go Lin. The girl can’t breathe. Anyway we can talk about this on the way. We should start heading to the school.”

 


	23. Everything is going to be daijoubu

Rika felt very stiff in her uniform. It had barely been a week since suspension but it felt strange to be wearing her uniform again. Walking between her aunt (asking a million questions about “the boyfriend”) and uncle she felt her heart eating through her ribcage with how hard it was beating. As they passed the Tachibana household she wished Makoto would come walking out the door, scoop her up in his arms, and carry her far away. However, he was still sick and in no condition to fulfill her fantasy now.

She sighed and focused on the walk and answering her aunt’s questions. Was Makoto nice? Did he treat her well? Was his family nice? Is he cute? How long had they been dating? Would they get to meet him? To which Rika answered yes, of course, very nice, beyond cute, less than a month, and they would meet them that night for dinner. Lin, seeming pleased with these answers, went quiet for the rest of the walk. This only added to Rika’s anxiety as they neared the school.

Walking through the gates she spotted Haru and the others standing near the door talking. Once Rei spotted her he waved and got the other’s attention. They all turned to see her and donned wide smiles, including Mei. She and Sakura approached them as they got closer causing them to stop for a moment.

“Hello Hatori-san. Lin-san,” Sakura greeted.

“Sakura-chan! How nice to see you!” Lin gave her a hug before turning to Mei and doing the same. “I can’t believe you guys are in your second year already. How time passes.”

Mei nodded and looked to Rika. “It goes fast when you have good friends.”

Rika could cry with relief and squeeze Mei. Holding back she smiled and nodded. “It really does.”

“Ri Ri!” A blur of blond came into view as Nagisa practically tackled Rika.

She stumbled slightly but righted herself quickly. “Ri Ri?”

“Nagisa-kun’s talent is nicknaming his friends.” Rei came into view followed by Haru and Gou. “Good morning Rika-chan. How are you feeling?”

“Much better. Thanks Rei.”

“And Makoto-senpai?”

A small look of guilt clouded her expression. “Very sick. Oh let me introduce everyone. Uhm Auntie Lin, Uncle Tori these are some friends I made. This is Hazuki Nagisa,” she said gesturing to the boy still clinging to her. “Ryugazaki Rei.” Who was trying to pull Nagisa off. “Matsuoka Gou and Nanase Haruka.”

Gou and Haru waved. “It’s nice to meet you,” they greeted in unison.

“It’s a pleasure,” Hatori answered with a fond smile. “I’m so glad our Rika has made friends with a nice group of kids.”

“We’re glad to have her.” Haru reached out and patted her head gently.

“Please continue to look out for our Ri-chan,” added Lin.

The group gave a little bow and answered, “Yes!”

Rika couldn’t find the words to express how much she loved these people. Many times over she knew she was grateful to have them in her life but there was no proper way for her to put all the warmth and courage they filled her with into words.

“Ah Hama-san!” The principal’s voice broke Rika out of her thoughts. He extended his hand out to Hatori with a smile. “Welcome!”

“Good morning Ono-san.” Her uncle shook the man’s hand and gave a small bow. “My wife and I would like to thank you for taking time to meet with us and for looking after our Rika.”

The principal glanced over to Rika, who was hanging her head. “Of course. Hama-chan is a wonderful girl. Please come right this way.”

As the principal lead Hatori and Lin into the building Rika stayed behind for a moment. This was it. They would soon find out about everything and her fate would be decided. To go to Kyoto or to stay in Iwatobi. To stay in the house she loved or to be moved away from the last part of her parents she had. To not be a disappointment or to be seen as a burden and the worst nice on the planet.

_“ _It is_ okay Rika. It’s okay for you to be happy right now. But everything will work out. Right?”  _

Makoto’s words rang out in her head loud and clear. He wasn’t there in person but he was still encouraging her. Everything would work out. Feeling comfort ease her rampant heart she looked over to her friends. They were smiling, even Haru, and holding up their fists.

“Fight on Rika,” they said in unison.

With a determined nod she followed after her aunt and uncle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She stayed quiet the whole meeting and never took her eyes away from where her hands rested in her lap. She could feel her aunt and uncle tense beside her as the list of fights were read out. She could feel a small wave of relief as it was announced that her grades had greatly improved. She could feel the sting of shock when the word _suspended_ came up. Lin’s eyes burned a hole in the side of Rika’s head while Hatori remained chillingly silent.

“Hama-chan is a wonderful girl.” The principal’s voice was clear and had a tinge of regret as he continued. “The fighting is mostly her trying to protect others but it is violence nonetheless. This last particular fight was…her protecting herself and being protected by Tachibana-kun. After consideration of the incident I am willing to lift the suspension on her and Tachibana-kun with the following conditions. They both do after school tutoring, cleanup crew for a month, and assisting teachers with their duties.”

Hatori sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I…I don’t know what to say. I apologize for the pains you’ve had to take with her. My wife and I greatly appreciate the care and time you’ve put in. Before this meeting Lin and I had been discussing moving Rika to Kyoto so that we may be better guardians.”

“Oh…I see.” Rika chanced a glance up to the man on the other side of the desk. That hint of regret that had been in his voice was clear in his eyes. “Well, if I may, I have seen Rika thrive here in Iwatobi. Even from a year ago she has changed considerably. Not only in grades but also in demeanor. The fights have ceased, this last being an exception, and she has become more social. It is of course your decision to move her or not.”

Lin stood and bowed. “Thank you Ono-san. Rika, let’s go.”

Rika stood and bowed before following her aunt and uncle out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Suspended.” Lin’s voice was quiet and hesitant as if she had never heard the word before. “Suspended. Rika…why?”

“I didn’t mean to.” She kept her gaze trained on the wave crashing a little ways off. The three of them had stopped and sat on the wall along the beach. They had been quiet until Lin finally spoke. “I had stopped fighting and then Natsume—“

“Rika,” came Hatori’s low voice. “You’ve explained the incident and your aunt and I understand. This one was not your fault. But you have responsibility in it as well. Not only did you get suspended but you involved Tachibana-kun.”

“But Mako…”

He held up a hand to stop her. “I know he was trying to protect you. But if you had not been so inclined to fight so often before you might not have been suspended this time. You might not have provoked this Natsume-kun and this fight would not have occurred. Do you see?”

Rika’s gaze dropped from the ocean to the sand under her feet. “Yes uncle.”

He heaved a deep sigh. “My little brother would be so disappointed.”

The world spun before her eyes as the words tangled in her mind. _My little brother would be so disappointed_. Disappointed. Rika’s eyes went wide and her insides felt like tar sucking everything into a dark pit. She knew it. She knew this would be a possibility but it didn’t make it hurt any less to hear those words leave his lips. Rika was once again tumbling down her hill, hitting every rock and bump, with more momentum that ever. She was rolling into darkness with her source of light standing at the top calling out to her. Makoto sang his encouraging words to her, trying to pull her back to the top, trying to protect her but he wouldn’t reach her. Not this time.

“They would both be disappointed,” added Lin.

 _Stop. Please, anything but that._ Rika felt warm tears hit the back of her hands which had curled into fists on her lap.

“Your parents would be so disappointed in us.”

 _What? Wait…_ Rika hit a bump and righted herself on the hill. She paused in her tumbling as the darkness slowly got brighter.

Lin sniffled as she continued. “They trusted you to us, trusted us to take care of you and keep you safe. But we didn’t. All the fights you got into…if we had just been here with you or moved you to Kyoto sooner then maybe…”

Rika looked over to her aunt and saw tears flowing down her cheeks. Looking to her uncle she saw the same. The darkness kept brightening at the bottom of her hill and soon revealed figures standing at the base.

“We’re so sorry Rika.” Hatori’s voice cracked as he scrubbed his eyes. “We are so sorry we did not love you more. We didn’t protect you more. Forgive us.”

Hatori and Lin were standing at the bottom of her hill with arms open wide. Next to them were her parents. All around them were her friends and Makoto. They were all waiting for her with welcoming smiles and open arms. Warm light glowed around them as a welcome. She had to tumble down her hill, had to get scars and bruises, she had to right herself and fall again to reach what she thought would only be at the top. Rika let out a sob before reaching for her aunt and uncle and holding them tightly. Together the three of them sat on the wall, holding each other tightly, and crying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Tachibana household welcomed the three of them with warmth, the smell of food, and the twin’s laughter. Kou and Lin set the table all the while talking about her interest in knitting. Hatori helped Kame in the kitchen with preparing the food. The twins chattered away about their day at school while Rika sat with them on the couch. Sitting with them and being in the house lifted any remaining worry off of Rika’s shoulders. The only thing that could make it better was seeing the person that filled her with the brightest light and love she had known.

“Dinner is ready,” Kame announced as she and Hatori brought the plates out from the kitchen. The twins bolted up and dragged Rika with them. “Everyone take a seat. Oh Rika-chan could you grab Mako and let him know? See if he feels up to eating with us.”

With a quick nod Rika tried her best not to run to the stairs. Once out of sight she took the steps three at a time, practically face planting into the stairs. Excitement bubbled in her chest as she made her way to his room and stood in front of his door. Knocking a couple times she waited for him to answer.

“Come in,” came his hoarse voice.

Rika pushed the door open as Makoto was just pulling a shirt over his head. “Hi.”

“Rika.” He practically sighed her name as a soft smile pulled at his lips. “I thought I heard you downstairs. I thought it was part of a dream.”

She smiled and shook her head. “It’s no dream.” The way his eyes crinkled and how his head tilted with his smile sent a shiver down her back. Clearing her throat she said, “Your mom said dinner is ready if you feel well enough to eat with us. How are you feeling?”

Makoto nodded. “A lot better.” He walked over and ran a hand through her hair. “Especially now that I got to see you.”

Rika puffed out her cheeks and fidgeted. “What a sap,” she mumbled.

“Oi!” Makoto pulled her into his chest. His arms wrapped around her and held her close. Rika encased him in her own arms slung around his waist. He chuckled as she buried her face into him. “I’ve said this before but you’re like a cat Rika.”

“Good,” came her muffled voice. Turning her head she rested her cheek against his chest and listened to his heart. “I missed you.”

Makoto chuckled again, the feeling rumbling through his chest to her cheek. “I saw you yesterday silly.”

Rika hunched her shoulders a little embarrassed. “I…I know.”

As she tried to move away from him, Makoto tightened his arms around her. Rika did the same but moved back enough so she could see him. His green eyes glittered as he looked back at her.

“I think things went well today.”

Makoto watched her for a long moment. “I can tell. I’m happy for you Rika. You look genuinely happy.”

She shrugged and brought her gaze down. “I’m always genuinely happy when I’m with you.”

He laughed and shook his head. “But right now you look confident that you can enjoy it. You sound confident that things went well. That’s good.”

Rika rocked back and forth in his arms and smiled shyly. “Well you helped me out. Because of you I can take baby steps towards things. Like how I can float in the pool now.”

“It’s also because of your hard work. I’m glad I could be part of it though.”

Rika nodded in agreement before peeking up at him. Makoto looked back at her with an amused curiosity. “Makoto? Kiss?”

Her cheeks didn’t even burn with her usual shy embarrassment. With growing more confident in being happy she was also growing confident in being in this relationship. She wanted to love and be loved and Makoto was the only one. His face, however, was as pink as a cherry blossom and it was entirely adorable.

“I…I’m still sick you know,” he said quietly.

“You didn’t mind when I was sick,” she shrugged. “So I don’t mind either.”

With a small smile he nodded. Rika stretched onto her tiptoes while he bent down slightly. They met in the middle with a gentle touch of their lips.


	24. A sweet parting

Their stomachs were full of good food, their throats were dry from all the laughing and conversation, and their minds were exhausted from the day. The four adults sat at the dinner table making quiet conversation and glancing, now and again, at the children in the living room with fond smiles. Makoto and Rika leaned against each other as they slept on the couch. Ran had her arms entwined around her older brother’s leg, sleeping with a smile, while her head rested in his lap. Ren, meanwhile, stretched out across Rika’s lap, mouth wide open, and head dangling over Rika’s legs.

“What a sight,” chuckled Kame.

“Rika certainly is comfortable,” Lin commented as she watched her niece. “She does so well with the twins, I was a little surprised.”

Kou nodded and leaned his cheek in his palm. “She has become part of the family quite easily. Rika-chan is a wonderful girl. “

Lin looked to him a little bashfully. “Thank you for looking after her…when we haven’t.”

Kame waved her hand. “We haven’t done anything special. I wish we had looked in on her sooner and more. It’s Makoto and his friends who have been taking care of Rika-chan.”

“You have a wonderful boy,” Hatori added in. He thought over meeting the boy and watching how he acted around Rika during dinner. He treated Rika so carefully and adoringly, with little touches of their elbows or hands. “Makoto-kun will be heartbroken.”

“Eh?” Kame and Kou exchanged looks.

Lin cleared her throat and shifted in her seat. “The thing is Tori and I live in Kyoto. We have no children of our own and have always thought of Rika as our child in a way. Though thinking about things now I don’t think we make very good parents.” She gave a humorless laugh before continuing on. “We were… _are_ planning on taking Rika back to Kyoto with us. This way she can feel like she has a family again.”

The table went silent for an extended moment. Kou took a breath but did not speak right away. He turned his gaze towards the children as he let out his breath and let the words past his lips. “I hope you don’t mind me saying so but Rika has a family here. She has Makoto and Haru-chan and Nagisa-kun and Rei-kun. Those boys are her family. And Kame and I would like to be her family as well.”

He turned his gaze back to Hatori and Lin. Seeing their expressions he waved his hands and gave a wide smile. “T-that is well…I know you two are her _real_ family. I j-just m-meant…she has improved so and really opened up…”

“No need to apologize Kou-san,” Lin smiled. “Again I am glad she is so comfortable here and that you’ve welcomed her. Tori and I can’t thank you enough. I’m sorry to be moving her away.”

“T-then please don’t.” Kame glanced to her husband and then between the other couple. “Kou and I adore Rika and would be happy to help keep an eye on her more often. She is over here almost every night anyway. And if Makoto were to go to her house every now and then to spend a night or a weekend I’m sure it would all work out.”

Hatori reached over and took his wife’s hand. “We thank you for your generosity and concern. Really we do. We wouldn’t be able to thank you enough if we made this arrangement.”

“You don’t need to thank us at all Hatori-san. Truly. But of course it is your decision.”

Hatori and Lin exchanged looks. “We will make our decision by the end of our visit. For now I think we better get the girl home.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Makoto woke to his father shaking his shoulder. Struggling to keep his eyes open and correct his blurry vision he grumbled sleepily.

“Come on son,” he heard his father say. Kou placed a hand at his child’s elbow and the other at his shoulder. “Time to go to bed.”

Makoto looked around him, still in a haze of sleep, and saw his mother and Lin carrying the twins up the stairs. “B-but you’ll wake Rika.”

His father nodded and began lifting him from the couch. “She is going home Mako.”

Makoto staggered on his feet, leaning heavily against his father, and watched as Hatori pulled Rika onto his back. His arms hooked under her legs and her arms dangled over his shoulders. She was still fast asleep, the movement not bothering her at all. Makoto felt his heart leap in his chest as he watched Hatori start to head for the door. Lin came back down the stairs and met her husband while grabbing Rika’s shoes.

“W-wait.” Makoto tried to walk over but a combination of drowsiness and the remnants of a fever made it hard. “I didn’t say goodnight. I want to tell Rika goodnight.”

“No Makoto.” Kou placed a hand to his son’s chest. “Let her sleep. You can talk to her tomorrow.”

Puffing out his cheeks in a pout he stopped his struggle. However, his heart still thundered away in his chest. A strange sensation that this would be the last time he would see her caused his stomach to drop and his throat to go dry. Blurred words of _moving to Kyoto_ and _being heartbroken_ swirled in his mind seeming like a dream but also feeling like reality. He tried to shake the sleepiness off so he could properly say goodnight as Hatori and Lin thanked them for a lovely evening.

Once the door had shut behind them Makoto was dragged away up to his room. He flopped onto his bed face first and allowed his father to tuck him in. With a pat on the back and a kiss to his head Kou left Makoto to sleep. Though it would not be a peaceful night whatsoever. His dreams were filled with Rika. First they were both cats wandering the streets peacefully side by side until large hands scooped her up and took her away. Next they were sitting by the school pool and she slipped in and no matter how fast or hard he swam he could not reach her. Dream upon dream of having her and losing her kept him tossing and turning. When morning came Makoto felt out of breath with cement heavy limbs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The weekend came and went in a flash. Sunday was here and signaled the end of Hatori and Lin’s visit. The three of them ate breakfast quietly while Yuki circled the table and their legs looking for extra handouts.

“So…” Lin cleared her throat and set down her tea. “Uncle and I have been talking about a few things.”

Rika paused in eating and set down her things. She looked between her aunt and uncle trying to keep her expression calm. “Oh?”

Lin looked to Hatori, who gave her a nod, before continuing on. “We’ve noticed and heard how hard you have been working Rika. Not only with school but with your personal life. I was so worried that you would only have Sakura-chan and Mei-chan as friends, lovely as they are. But now you’ve made so many and even have a boyfriend! You’ve stopped fighting, you’re working hard, and you’ve started swim lessons. We’re so proud of you Ri-chan.”

“Thank you Auntie Lin.” Her stomach was flipping uncomfortably as she tried to shuffle through what her aunt was trying to get at. Where was this conversation going?

“Do you like living here on your own Rika?” Hatori asked.

Rika thought for a moment and shrugged. “I grew up in this house. I have a lot of good memories and have added some more recently. I am close to my parents here. It gets lonely at times but…” A small smile came to her lips. “With Makoto and the others coming over to study or hangout it goes away.”

“You really care for Makoto-kun don’t you?”

“I love him,” she responded without hesitation and nodded. “And he loves me.”

“We…were thinking…maybe moving now would be a little drastic.”

“After all,” added Lin. “You should finish high school with the friends you’ve made. Moving to Kyoto and having to make new friends would be stressful.” She shrugged before continuing on. “And the fights might start up and transferring your grades…”

Rika’s mouth dropped open slightly and her eyes widened. “S-so…you m-mean…”

Lin smiled. “Well we could make our visits a little more frequent. Say twice or maybe three times a month instead. And the Tachibanas have offered to help look after you.”

She sat there for a long moment letting the words sink in. “Is this a test? Am I being challenged?”

“No,” Lin laughed. “We are serious Rika.”

“Besides you’re in love.” Hatori smiled fondly at her. “And that should never be lost. Take every moment of it. Even when Makoto-kun goes to college, like he talked about Friday night, don’t let go of that love you have.”

“I don’t plan to.” Rika felt tears sting her eyes and a smile pulled her lips so tightly. “So you’re saying I can stay here? I can stay in Iwatobi?”

They nodded. Tears of unspeakable relief and happiness fell down her cheeks. Rika jumped up from her chair and hugged both of them with all her strength.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Makoto felt so restless. All Saturday he could only think about his dreams and what was said when he and Rika had fallen asleep on the couch. His parents and filled him in on what Hatori and Lin had said about moving Rika to Kyoto. Rika had mentioned it sometime ago as a possibility but he had been so sure it wouldn’t happen. She had been doing so well and working so hard to change things in her life. She was more outgoing, stopped fighting, and doing everything she could academically. And, if he would allow himself to be a little selfish, Makoto wanted Rika to stay. He wanted her where he could hug her any time, where he could kiss her lazily in the rain, where he could see her smiling at him.

He wanted to keep her and if she were in Kyoto that would be hard. Not to say that he wouldn’t put in effort to have a long distance relationship and visit whenever he could. But it would be hard as long as they were in high school. Once he got into college and was able to move around a little more freely it would prove easier. Maybe he could even look for a college in Kyoto. All of these things plagued him and he, more than anything, wanted to go to Rika and scoop her up and hide her somewhere. But he kept his distance. He told himself she needed family time and that he would see her when Hatori and Lin left on Sunday (hopefully not taking her with them).

To occupy himself he swam at the club and took on a few extra hours of coaching. This way his mind would be busy and unable to panic about things until later. Sunday was no different. Makoto was over at the swim club early before his round of students of that day showed up. He had changed into his uniform quickly and jumped right into the pool. His mind was focused on moving his arms, making sharp turns, and steady breathing. He was on his sixth lap when he heard someone call his name over the rush of water as he zipped through it.

“Makoto!”

He was at the farthest end of the pool when he paused, huffing for air, and recognized the voice. Pushing his goggles back he saw Rika trotting in causing his heart to take off and for him to become breathless all over again. A wide smile tugged at her lips while a gleam of excitement made her violet eyes shine. He watched as she drew closer with a smile of his own, it was good to see she wasn’t so afraid of the pool as she had been. However, his smile quickly vanished as Rika jumped into the pool.

Makoto swam as fast as he could to where she was splashing about as she tried to dog paddle to him. He pulled her to his body, placed her arms around his neck, and hoisted her up enough so her torso was above water. Rika shook her head trying to push her wet hair away from her face, still grinning like a dope.

“Rika! What were you thinking?” His voice was still hoarse from being sick but it held enough bite to make her wince slightly at his words. “Have you lost your mind? You can’t just jump in the pool like that! You could have drowned!”

“But I didn’t,” she responded with a matter of fact tone. Her arms tightened around his neck as she pressed closer to him. “You came to save me…like you always do.”

Makoto stared at her for a long moment. At last he heaved a heavy sigh and hung his head. “You worried me. What if I wasn’t fast enough? What if I wasn’t here?”

“I’m sorry.” She looked up at him with sweet eyes, her brows raised, and a little pout on her lips. “I didn’t mean to worry you. Please don’t be mad.”

“Hah.” Makoto leaned his forehead against hers and looked her in the eye. “I’m not mad…just worried and a little nervous. Why did you do that anyway?”

Rika rubbed her nose with his and smiled. “I have something I need to tell you.”

“Oh?” His heart was trying to climb up his throat and out of his body it was beating so fast.

“I don’t have to move!” She paused for a minute letting the words sink in. “Auntie and Uncle said I can stay here, in the house, and stay with you and everyone else. They will just make their visits more frequently and that your parents agreed to help look after me. And my aunt and uncle aren’t disappointed in me either! We had this family talk on the beach and cried and hugged. It was really…amazing.”

Makoto blinked a few times trying to register everything she had said. “You…you’re not…”

“Nope.” Smiling widely she waited in his arms.

“You’re not moving…you will be here in Iwatobi?”

“Yes.”

“So no Kyoto?”

“No,” she chuckled. As he remained silent her smile began to drop. Her arms loosened around his neck and she pulled back slightly. “Are you disappointed?”

“No! No, no, no,” he said quickly. He pulled her back to him and hugged her tightly. “You have no idea how happy this has made me! Oh Rika!”

Makoto spun around in the water creating waves as he twirled them around. Rika laughed and clung to him. Finally he stopped and pulled back to plant a series of quick kisses on her cheeks, nose, and mouth. Finally he let his lips linger on hers. One hand pressed against her back while the other cradled the back of her head. His mind went blank with happiness as he pulled back and kissed her again. All the fear and worry that had built up inside him drained out of him all at once. Makoto thanked every god he could think of for letting her stay with him.

The two of them stayed in the pool, tangled in each other’s arms, and giving little loving kisses for what seemed like forever. They only parted when they heard one of the other employees coming towards the pool. Makoto encouraged Rika to shower in the employee locker room, change into the extra clothes he brought, and stay to watch him coach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Some months later…**

The twins were quiet at their parents’ side with tears clinging to their lashes. Having said their goodbyes to their older brother, with the promise to Skype whenever they missed him too much, stood to the side. Makoto now stood in front of the train with Rika before him. They stood quietly for a long moment just watching each other. It seemed surreal that he had graduated and was now on his way to Tokyo University after a blissful summer with his friends and the girl he loved.

Makoto reached out and tucked her now short hair behind her ear. He liked how her hair looked short, he liked how it had looked long, but then again he liked Rika any way she looked. “You’ll have a good third year. And before you know it you’ll be graduating and going off to college yourself.”

Rika nodded quietly. “We’ll miss you and Haru.”

He smiled. “We’ll miss you all too. But I’ll see you during winter break. And Haru will be around during that time when he isn’t training with his team.”

“Yeah.” Her eyes were glittering as tears began to surface. Rika bit her lower lip and looked down. “Winter break will come fast.”

“Hey, hey.” Makoto pulled her to his chest and rubbed her back. “No crying. We can talk on the phone all the time and text and Skype. We have lots of ways to talk until you come to visit. Right?”

Rika sniffed and nodded with her face still buried against his chest. “I know…”

Cupping her face he made her look at him. With his thumb he wiped the tears from her cheeks and have her a sweet smile. “I love you Rika.”

“I love you too, Makoto.” A sad little smile came to her own lips.

Leaning down he kissed her and held her close. Over the speakers came the announcement that the train was going to leave and for all passengers to be aboard. Makoto felt his heart jump as he pulled out of the kiss. This was it. Quickly he gave his parents and the twins another hug goodbye and gave Rika one more parting kiss. Grabbing his backpack and duffle bag he got onto the train. Rika stood with his parents and the twins waving till they couldn’t see the train anymore.

Rika let out a long sigh and smiled happily despite the tears streaming down her cheeks. The person she loved was off on his new adventure and was planning on taking her along. He was right of course, her third year would be good and before she knew it she would be back in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone enjoyed this story!!!! Thanks for reading and the comments you guys left! :)

**Author's Note:**

> Just having some fun with my own character. Don't own anything to do with Free! or the characters from it. Not sure how this first chapter turned out but hope this is something enjoyable to read :)


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